Department for Transport

Transport: Forests

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that ancient woodlands and trees are protected during the construction of new transport infrastructure.

Jesse Norman: When considering all new transport infrastructure plans the Government assesses the impact on the environment to ensure the right balance is struck between the expected social and economic benefits and the impact on the natural environment. The National Policy Statement for National Networks sets out the Government’s policy on development of nationally significant infrastructure projects on the national road and rail networks in England. The NPS is the primary basis for making decisions on development consent applications and the guidance it provides recognizes that ancient woodland is a valuable resource both for its diversity of species and for its longevity as woodland.

Department for Transport: Procurement

Faisal Rashid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his Department’s policy is on awarding contracts to companies which have recently issued profit warnings.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department’s remit within the transport sector is primarily delivered through its Arm’s Length Bodies: Network Rail, Highways England and High Speed Two Ltd. Assessments of a company’s ability to deliver its obligations is performed during each procurement exercise by those bodies.

Electric Vehicles

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many rapid electric charging points have been funded by the Government and installed in England in the (a) last six months and (b) last year.

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many rapid electric charging points have been funded by the Government and installed in the (a) the last six months and (b) last year in each constituency.

Jesse Norman: The Government has directly funded the installation of 81 rapid electric charge points within the last 12 months through its Go Ultra Low Cities and Ultra Low Emission Taxi Infrastructure schemes. Work is continuing and by 2020 these schemes together aim to deliver around 600 rapid chargepoints across the UK. This is in addition to the 900 rapid chargepoints which are already installed - one of the biggest networks in Europe. The Go Ultra Low and Taxi infrastructure cities awarded funding by the Department for Transport are London, Milton Keynes, Bristol, Nottingham, the North East Combined Authority, Dundee, Oxford, York, Coventry, Wolverhampton, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Slough, Cambridge and Birmingham. Of the 81 rapid chargepoints installed in the last 12 months, two have been installed in Dundee and 79 in London. Many more rapids will be installed across the other cities over the next year. As of 23 January 2018, records on the Transport for London website showed the following rapid chargepoint installation information in the table below: ConstituencyTypePost CodeKingston and SurbitonPublic and taxi use. In operation.KT9 1DSEnfield, SouthgateTaxi only. In operation.N11 1ANBatterseaTaxi only. In operation.SW11 4LUFinchley and Golders GreenTaxi only. In operation.NW11 9UAFinchley and Golders GreenTaxi only. In operation.N2 0NWHolborn and St PancrasTaxi only. In operation.NW1 3ADIlford NorthTaxi only. In operation.IG6 3HDTottenhamTaxi only. In operation.N17 7BUBermondsey and Old SouthwarkTaxi only. In operation.SE1 4YFEaling NorthTaxi only. Awaiting installation.UB6 8PXIlford NorthTaxi only. In operation.IG6 3BDHarrow WestTaxi only. In operation.HA1 1BBHornsey and Wood GreenTaxi only. Awaiting installation.London N6Feltham and HestonTaxi only. In operation.TW3 3DHLeyton and WansteadTaxi only. In operation.E11 1HEHayes and HarlingtonPublic and taxi use. In operation.UB4 0SDHolborn and St PancrasTaxi only. In operation.NW1 2 JUCroydon NorthTaxi only. In operation.CR7 6XJHendonTaxi only. In operation.NW7 1BSIlford NorthTaxi only. In operation.IG2 7RNEnfield, SouthgateTaxi only. In operation.N14 4UTElthamPublic and taxi use. In operation.SE3 8SYBrentford and IsleworthTaxi only. In operation.TW7 4PUEaling NorthTaxi only. In operation.UB6 7NPCities of London and Westminster1 x Public and taxi use. In operation 1 x Taxi only. In operationWC2H 7PRCities of London and WestminsterPublic and taxi use. In operation.W1G 9HFCities of London and Westminster1 x Public and taxi use. In operation 1 x Taxi only. In operationSW1X 8EACities of London and Westminster1 x Public and taxi use. In operation 1 x Taxi only. In operationW1G 0PGCities of London and WestminsterPublic and taxi use. In operation.SW1V 4LRWestminster NorthPublic and taxi use. In operation.NW8 6AACroydon CentralPublic and taxi use. In operationCR0 1TRBermondsey and Old Southwark1 x Public and taxi use. In operation 1 x Taxi only. In operationSE1 2NEBrent NorthPublic and taxi use. In operationHA8 5NPUxbridge and South RuislipTaxi only. In operationHA4 6NFBermondsey and Old SouthwarkTaxi only. In operationSE1 1UNRunnymede and WeybridgePublic and taxi use. In operationKT15 2EDOld Bexley and SidcupPublic and taxi use. In operationDA15 9NTReigatePublic and taxi use. In operationKT20 6SUIslington NorthPublic and taxi use. In operationN7 8JEChipping BarnetPublic and taxi use. In operationEN5 3JGHayes and HarlingtonPublic and taxi use. In operationUB7 0AEEast SurreyPublic and taxi use. In operationCR3 0BBBermondsey and Old SouthwarkTaxi only. In operationSE1 0JQHarrow WestTaxi only. In operationHA2 8HNUxbridge and South RuislipTaxi only. In operationHA4 6TPBermondsey and Old SouthwarkTaxi only. In operationSE1 1UNBermondsey and Old SouthwarkTaxi only. In operationSE1 0PNIlford NorthTaxi only. In operationE18 1JJHammersmithTaxi only. In operationW14 9ESEpping ForestTaxi only. In operationCM16 7EUChipping BarnetTaxi only. In operationN20 9QPBermondsey and Old SouthwarkTaxi only. In operationSE1 4TPRichmond ParkPublic and taxi use. In operation.SW14 7JURichmond ParkPublic and taxi use. In operation.SW14 7PJLeyton and WansteadTaxi only. In operationE11 2NTWatfordTaxi only. In operationWD18 7LEBrent NorthTaxi only. In operationHA9 9AAChipping BarnetTaxi only. In operationN12 8SE

Electric Vehicles: Taxis

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make further resources available to support people working in the taxi and private hire sector move to electric vehicles, in addition to the Plug-In Grant Scheme.

Jesse Norman: We have set aside £50 million to support the Plug-in Taxi Grant (PiTG) programme. This PiTG will give licensed taxi drivers up to £7,500 off the price of a new vehicle. We are also investing £14 million to deliver new dedicated chargepoints for electric taxis in 10 council areas. Additionally, the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) is available for eligible taxi drivers who are able to charge at home overnight.

Bus Services

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to increase bus usage.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Bus Services Act 2017 presents local authorities with new powers to bring about change, and unlock the potential for the bus industry to increase passenger numbers. In particular, new Enhanced Partnership and Advanced Quality Partnership powers provide the framework for authorities to work side by side with operators to set a shared vision for bus services in their area. Bus Open Data powers will require bus operators in England to open up route and timetable, fares and tickets and real time information for passengers by 2020. These improvements aim to remove uncertainty in bus journeys, improve journey planning and help passengers secure best value tickets. Accessible Information powers will require all operators of local bus services to provide audio and visual route and next stop announcements on board buses across Great Britain, helping to remove barriers to bus travel particularly for those with disabilities or accessibility needs. The Government also continues to invest in public transport. As an example, at the Autumn Budget the Government announced that the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority would receive a guaranteed allocation of £74m from the £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund to improve public transport.

Crossrail: Ebbsfleet

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of extending Crossrail to Ebbsfleet.

Joseph Johnson: There is no current feasibility assessment of extending the Elizabeth line to Ebbsfleet. However, if a business case for the extension was submitted to the Department this would then be reviewed.

Transport: Weather

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) rail and (b) road infrastructure is able to be used during adverse and severe weather conditions.

Joseph Johnson: Network Rail is improving the weather resilience of its railway infrastructure, both now and for the future. This includes significant work to ensure seasonal preparedness, with specialists on each route delivering plans for summer, autumn and winter which are reviewed and monitored by a National Weather Specialist. Network Rail is also improving infrastructure and investigating new ways to make it more resilient, for example drainage and track circuit infrastructure that can better cope with heat. Highways England works to a severe weather plan, which outlines the actions that should be taken. It also uses detailed road weather forecasts and monitor weather conditions and carries out pre-emptive activities when severe weather is imminent. These include providing information on road conditions and protecting and clearing roads using a fleet of salt spreaders and snow blowers. Highways England also undertakes preventative work, encouraging drivers to take precautionary measures and travel safely through various media outlets. Local highway authorities have a duty under Section 41 of the Highways Act 1980 to maintain the highways network in their area. It is for local highway authorities to determine the priority they give to winter services and ensuring that plans are in place to deal with any extreme weather events that we may encounter including snow/ice and storms. Every winter, the Department reminds local highway authorities of their responsibilities. We ask them to ensure they take all necessary steps to mitigate against any severe weather incidents by; reviewing and updating winter service and other contingency plans, and taking into account any lessons learnt from previous winters. The Department also reminds local highway authorities of the importance of working closely with their Local Resilience Forum and other key organisations and responders within their area.

Bus Services

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the trend in the level of passenger journeys made by bus by people aged (a) 16 and under, (b) 17-20 and (c) 21-29 since 2010.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Transport funds the National Travel Survey (NTS), a series of annual household surveys which provide consistent data on personal travel behaviour for all residents of England. The latest year for which data are available is 2016. Estimates for the number of bus trips per person per year by the requested age groups, for the years 2010 to 2016, are given in the table below. Average number of local and non-local bus trips1, by age group: England, 2010-2016Trips per person per year   Age group 2010201120122013201420152016   0-16 65585967616253 17-20 132124108142122123101 21-29 89747870727254   1 'Bus trips' includes local buses in London and elsewhere, and non-local buses, where the bus stage was the longest part of the trip, by distance. Source: DfT, National Travel Survey   The figures suggest that there has been a fall, in 2016, in the number of bus trips taken by all ages shown. The survey is subject to sampling error, however, so single year on year changes should be interpreted with caution.

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what arrangements are in place for the collapse of the procurement of the Wales and Borders rail franchise should the franchise not be awarded within the allocated time frame.

Joseph Johnson: It is the responsibility of the Welsh Government to procure the Wales and Borders rail franchise. However, should these circumstances arise, an extension of the existing Franchise Agreement could be called for seven railway periods (i.e. 28 weeks). There is also the potential to negotiate an extension of up to 65 railway periods with the existing franchisee, as well as the Department having the standard Railways Act Operator of Last Resort powers.

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the transfer of functions order relating to the Wales and Borders rail franchise to be laid before Parliament.

Joseph Johnson: This draft Transfer of Functions Order is due to be laid before Parliament imminently. Subject to its approval, it is expected that the Order will come into force prior to the commencement of the replacement Wales and Borders franchise in October 2018.

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons are for the time taken to transfer functions over the Wales and Borders rail franchise to the National Assembly for Wales.

Joseph Johnson: The Silk Commission report highlighted the need for co-operation on the future of the English parts of the Wales and Borders rail franchise. Since reaching agreement in principle to devolve the franchise in November 2014, both Governments have been working collaboratively to give effect to the formal transfer of powers, which has required resolution of a number of detailed policy and practical considerations around cross-border and English services.

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which body is responsible for any costs incurred to the public purse as a result of (a) delays in procuring or (b) a failure to procure the next Wales and Borders rail franchise.

Joseph Johnson: Agency Agreement No.2 (Schedule 1, paragraphs 6 to 8) between the Secretary of State and Welsh Ministers signed on 28th September 2017 makes clear that any such costs would usually be the responsibility of Welsh Ministers, and the exceptional circumstances when this would not be the case.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662188/wales-and-borders-agency-agreement-2.pdf

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost to the public purse has been of the procurement of the Wales and Border rail franchise.

Joseph Johnson: The Wales & Borders rail franchise procurement is the responsibility of the Welsh Government. The Department does not hold any information on how much it has cost them.

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who is responsible for appointing an operator of last resort for the Wales and Borders rail franchise.

Joseph Johnson: The responsibility for appointing an operator of last resort for the Wales and Borders rail franchise currently rests with the Secretary of State for Transport.

Railways: Fares

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to roll-out the 26-30 railcard nationwide.

Joseph Johnson: As announced at the Autumn Budget 2017, the Government will work with industry to extend the benefits of discounted rail travel to ensure those aged 16 to 30 can access appropriate concessions. This will include the introduction of a new railcard for ages 26 to 30, which the government anticipates will increase the number of journeys taken. Further details will be announced in agreement with industry and will be implemented from Spring 2018.

Carillion

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the potential extra cost of High Speed Two project resulting from Carillion entering liquidation.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: There is no impact on the progress of the HS2 project. Two HS2 Main Work Civils Contracts were awarded to the joint venture CEK (comprising Carillion, Eiffage and Kier) in July 2017. The CEK joint venture provided HS2 Ltd with assurances that in the event of any member of the group being unable to deliver on its responsibilities, the remaining members, now Eiffage and Kier, would continue to deliver the contract. Each company's Boards have both given that assurance and confirmed they have the capacity to deliver the HS2 contract. No additional costs have been incurred by HS2 Ltd to date.

Schools: Transport

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of effectiveness of safeguarding regulations and requirements relating to the licensing of private hire drivers employed by private hire companies as assigned by local authorities to provide school transport services.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers are eligible for an enhanced DBS certificate with check of both barred lists for licensing purposes. This is the highest level of check available and will also include details of convictions and cautions recorded on the Police National Computer and any locally held police intelligence information that may be relevant to the role. It is for licensing authorities to make a decision, taking into account any information available including that disclosed by the DBS, as to whether an individual is suitable to hold a licence. There are also certain circumstances, such as undertaking specific contracted work driving children, which fall into regulated activity (with children). A taxi or PHV driver who is in regulated activity may be barred from this work if they pose a risk or harm or have caused harm to a child or vulnerable adult. A barred person is prevented by law from working with children or vulnerable groups. The Government will shortly consult on statutory guidance to be issued to licensing authorities, this will propose a range of standards and measures that it considers appropriate to the ‘fit and proper’ assessment and minimises any potential risk to taxi and PHV passengers.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the revenue that will accrue to the public purse from Severn Bridge tolls between 8 January and 31 December 2018.

Jesse Norman: The revenue from the Severn Bridge toll charges between 8 January and 31 December 2018 is estimated as £108m. This is based on the 2017 revenue with an assumption of 3% traffic growth.

Severn River Crossing: Tolls

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the timetable is for the abolition of tolls on the Severn bridges.

Jesse Norman: The Government will abolish charging on the Severn bridges by the end of 2018.

Severn River Crossing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the outstanding level of public debt is in relation to the Severn bridges; and what the estimated operating and maintenance costs for those bridges are for each year between 2018 and 2022.

Jesse Norman: The accumulated deficit at 31st March 2017, as defined in the Severn Bridges Act 1992 Accounts is £93.3m. The 2017 accounts are currently being audited and therefore still subject to change. The estimated operating and maintenance costs are: Financial year2018/192019/202020/212021/22Estimate£18m£10m£25m£16m The above figures are based on the concessionaires previous operating and maintenance costs, as Highways England only became responsible for the crossings on 8th January 2018. Highways England is currently reviewing these costs and developing long term asset management plans.

Heathrow Airport

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Transport for London on the surface access requirements required for Heathrow Airport expansion; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: Officials from my Department meet regularly with Transport for London to discuss airport expansion related surface access issues.

Gatwick Airport

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the surface access requirements required for Gatwick Airport expansion; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: An assessment of the surface access requirements for Gatwick Airport was carried out by the Airports Commission and published in their final report (July 2015) which is available on-line. Since that assessment was carried out plans have progressed significantly for improvements to the station at Gatwick Airport and proposed improvements to the Brighton Main Line are being taken forward by Network Rail.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy: Highlands of Scotland

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on energy consumers in the Highlands of charges relating to distribution network operations being applied to energy companies.

Claire Perry: Ofgem’s assessment of regional differences in network charges, which was published in October 2015, concluded that there is no concentration of vulnerable consumers in any one particular distribution network region. Nonetheless, the Government recognises that electricity distribution costs are higher for the North of Scotland than any other region, and that is why the Hydro Benefit Replacement Scheme is providing an assistance amount of £59m in 2017/18 to reduce distribution charges there. The Government reviews this scheme every three years, in line with a statutory requirement.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has plans to re-evaluate the feed-in tariff for households with solar panels with an energy performance certificate of band C and lower.

Claire Perry: The Government undertook a review of the Feed-in Tariff scheme in 2015. In 2016 revised tariffs were published, out to the end of March 2019. We have no plans to review these tariffs.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to vary the feed-in tariff for households with solar panels.

Claire Perry: The Government undertook a review of the Feed-in Tariff scheme in 2015. In 2016 revised tariffs were published, out to the end of March 2019. We have no plans to review these tariffs.

Green Deal Scheme

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to when a constituent makes an appeal to him  following rejection of a complaint and financial offer from the Green Deal Finance Company, whether third parties have any input or right of objection to his proposed offer.

Claire Perry: A consumer who is dissatisfied with an offer received from the Green Deal Finance Company may approach the Secretary of State for redress under the Green Deal Framework (Disclosure, Acknowledgment, Redress etc.) Regulations 2012. Where the Secretary of State is satisfied that a breach of the Green Deal Framework Regulations has occurred and that a consumer has suffered, or is likely to suffer, substantive loss, he may issue an “intention notice”. The intention notice must be provided to ‘affected persons’, meaning any person whose interests will be directly affected by the imposition of the sanction. Affected persons may make written representations in response to the intention notice. These are then taken into account before a decision on the final sanction is made.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to commitments set out in his Department's report entitled Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive: Eligible Heat Uses: Changes to eligible heat uses: Government Response to Chapter 2 of consultation, published in January 2018, when he plans to (a) introduce the new tariff guarantees to new biomethane-to-grid projects and (b) increase payments for anaerobic digestion plants that are built in order to encourage deployment.

Claire Perry: The Government remains fully committed to these reforms. The regulations to enact the remaining reforms, including provision for tariff guarantees and biomethane/biogas tariff uplift, require the affirmative resolution procedure in Parliament. The Department intends to lay these regulations shortly, following pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (JCSI).

Mineworkers' Pension Scheme

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that a further decline in Capita's finances will not affect the level of payments to members from the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme.

Claire Perry: The Department has spoken to the Trustees of the Mineworkers Pension Scheme and the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme and they have confirmed that they have received an assurance from Capita regarding the ongoing administration and payment of miners’ pensions. The level of the pensions is guaranteed by the Government and would be unaffected by the finances of the administrator.

Iron and Steel

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made in establishing a steel sector deal.

Richard Harrington: We will continue to work closely with the sector, the unions, the devolved nations and other partners on a sector deal as we seek to find a long-term viable solution for the steel industry.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Child Care Vouchers

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many employees in his Department make use of the childcare voucher scheme.

Richard Harrington: As at 31 January 2018, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) had 258 employees enrolled in the childcare voucher scheme.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Palestinians

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the Palestinian Authority to encourage that body to accept the Israeli invitation to return to direct peace negotiations without preconditions.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK continues to press both the Israelis and Palestinians to engage in direct negotiations that will lead to a safe and secure Israel living alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. The Foreign Secretary and I reiterated our support for a negotiated two-state solution when we met Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki in London on 8 January. I also encouraged the Palestinians to re-engage in peace negotiations when I spoke to Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki on 21 January.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Troika statement statement on conflict in South Sudan of 12 January 2018, what steps have been taken to define the consequences for those who violate the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement of 21 December 2017.

Harriett Baldwin: The UK welcomes the 25 January communiqué by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers on the reports of violations of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. This demands that all parties who have violated the Agreement submit their own reports to the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Monitoring Mechanism within one month, including the names of responsible individuals; and affirms IGAD's willingness to take appropriate action in the case of non-compliance.We are working with IGAD to ensure that the consequences for spoilers of the peace process are clearly set out and rigorously enforced. The UK played a leading role in securing additional EU sanctions, announced on 2 February, to demonstrate that those who choose to subvert the peace process or violate any agreements will be held to account. We strongly support the US arms embargo on South Sudan, also announced on 2 February, and continue to lobby for a UN arms embargo to address the flow of arms that is enabling the conflict.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent meetings he has had with the Government of Oman on the provision of humanitarian assistance to Yemen.

Alistair Burt: ​Addressing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is a key priority for the UK and we continue to raise the issue in regular conversations with our regional and international partners. The Foreign Secretary regularly discusses regional issue with the Government of Oman, most recently on 24 January during his visit to Oman.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that full humanitarian and commercial access to Hodeidah port is granted and maintained by the Saudi-led Coalition.

Alistair Burt: We welcome the announcement on 22 January by the Saudi-led Coalition of an initiative to address the humanitarian situation in Yemen. Improving humanitarian access to all of Yemen is key to alleviating the continuing crisis. Continued access for commercial supplies including food and fuel through the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef remains critical to ensuring that the Yemeni people get the supplies they so desperately need. The UK will continue pressing all parties for complete and unhindered commercial and humanitarian access to all of Yemen.

Yemen: Peace Negotiations

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to encourage progress on the peace talks between the parties to the conflict in Yemen.

Alistair Burt: The UK is playing a leading role in diplomatic efforts, including bringing together key international actors to try to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Yemen. As part of this we proposed the Presidential Statement passed at the UN Security Council in June this year, which called for an end to the fighting and a return to UN-led peace talks. We are now working urgently with our international and regional partners to ensure that the Security Council's words are converted into action. We call on all parties to respect these unified and clear demands from the international community. More recently, the Foreign Secretary hosted a meeting of his US, Saudi and Emirati counterparts in our Embassy in Paris on 23 January. They discussed ways of addressing the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, countering weapons smuggling and refocusing the political track to move towards a peaceful solution to the conflict.

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia on the location of and inspection system for the 17 safe-passage corridors from six points of entry announced on 22 January 2018.

Alistair Burt: We continue to engage with the Saudi-led Coalition on its Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations Plan (YCHOP). Improving humanitarian access to all of Yemen is key to alleviating the crisis. Continued access for commercial supplies including food and fuel through the ports of Hodeidah and Saleef is critical to ensuring that the Yemeni people get the supplies they so desperately need. The Coalition has publicly stated that corridor originating points will include Al Khadara, Al Tuwal, Hodeidah, Mokha, Aden and Marib.

Lebanon: Politics and Government

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Lebanese Government to support the stability of that Government.

Alistair Burt: ​The UK holds regular discussions with the Lebanese Government. On 8 December 2017, I met Prime Minister Hariri at the International Support Group for Lebanon in Paris. I made clear the importance of Lebanon's political stability and reiterated the UK's commitment to Lebanon's sovereignty and independence. Our Ambassador to Lebanon regularly raises the importance of this issue, including most recently with Prime Minister Hariri on 18 January and President Aoun on 29 January.

North Korea: Oil

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to prevent illegal oil exports to North Korea.

Mark Field: The UK welcomed the unanimous adoption of UNSCR 2397 and UNSCR 2375 in December 2017 and September 2017 respectively. Both include measures to limit the volume of oil that North Korea can legally import and to greatly reduce the hard currency income that the DPRK can devotes to its illegal weapons programmes. UNSCR 2397 aims to limit North Korea’s access to petroleum products by around 50% (the combined effect of all resolutions is an 89% reduction). We have also pursued additional autonomous measures through the EU, which now includes a full ban on all oil exports from the EU to North Korea. We remain vigilant to attempts by North Korea to evade UN sanctions and have lobbied third countries to effectively implement them swiftly and in full. This includes lobbying nations to submit reports to the UN 1718 Committee on steps taken to implement sanctions and to fully cooperate with the UN Panel of Experts in their investigations into potential sanctions violations. HMT advises regulated entities to consider the DPRK as high-risk for money laundering, terrorist financing and transfer of funds. Suspicions of these activities must be reported to Financial Intelligence Unit at the National Crime Agency.

Burma: Armed Conflict

Paul Scully: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he made representations to the Government of Burma after the reported air strike by the Burmese military on an amber mining camp in Noije, Kachin State, on 26 January 2018.

Mark Field: ​The UK is concerned about the apparent intensification of conflict in Kachin State, including credible reports of human rights abuses and violations. We raised our concerns at the UN Human Rights Council on 19 September 2017 but will do so again as soon as is appropriate. The British Ambassador in Rangoon visited Kachin State from 8 to 10 January to discuss the situation with local political and religious leaders as well as UN and NGO representatives, and to visit an Internally Displaced Persons camp.

Ethiopia: Political Prisoners

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterpart in the Ethiopian Government on that government’s recent announcement of plans to release a number of political prisoners; what estimate he has made of the number of (a) such prisoners released since that announcement was made, (b) additional such prisoners for whose release plans have been made; what information he holds on the planned timescale for the release of that country’s remaining political prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

Boris Johnson: I have been in contact with the Ethiopian Foreign Minister following the 3 January announcement by Prime Minister Hailemariam to welcome this positive signal of movement towards opening up political space in Ethiopia. According to Ethiopia's Attorney General, the first group of detainees was released around 17 January and included 528 prisoners who had been charged but not convicted. On 26 January, the President of Oromia Regional State announced that over 2,000 prisoners were included in a further release in that region. A separate process, expected to take around two months, will consider pardons for prisoners who have already been convicted at the federal level. The Ethiopian Government has given no indication of the numbers involved. The British Government will remain in close contact with the Ethiopian authorities as they take this forward.

Ethiopia: Counter-terrorism

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in Ethiopia on the potential reform of that country’s anti-terrorism laws; and if he will make a statement.

Boris Johnson: The British Government regularly raises with the Ethiopian Government the need for the opening up of political space in Ethiopia. Most recently, during the Fourth UK-Ethiopia Human Rights Dialogue in November, we made clear to the State Minister of Foreign Affairs our concerns around the implementation of Ethiopia's Anti-Terrorism Proclamation.

Lebanon: Elections

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the forthcoming parliamentary election in Lebanon is conducted in a free and fair manner.

Boris Johnson: We look forward to the holding of parliamentary elections in Lebanon on 6 May 2018. We regularly raise with the Lebanese Government the importance of the elections taking place on time and according to international standards. Our Ambassador to Lebanon discussed this most recently with Foreign Minister Bassil on 15 January and President Aoun on 29 January. The UK is funding a number of programmes to support successful, free and fair Lebanese elections. This includes a project on parliamentary transparency and monitoring and projects to increase the proportion of female MPs by supporting female candidates and supporting advocacy for greater women's representation.

Lebanon: Human Rights

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in Lebanon on the establishment of a National Human Rights Institute as required under Lebanese law; and if he will make a statement.

Boris Johnson: I have not raised the issue myself with the Lebanese Foreign Minister, but our Ambassador to Lebanon has made regular representations. On 13 December we issued a statement welcoming Prime Minister Hariri's comments which said that the institute would be independent and receive due funding.

Lebanon: Protest

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the excessive use of force by Lebanese security forces against civilians taking part in peaceful protests; and if he will take steps to promote the establishment of an independent mechanism to investigate allegations of such excessive use of force.

Boris Johnson: We are aware of reports that Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) used unlawful force against protesters at a demonstration in Beirut in December. We monitor allegations of human rights abuses closely and encourage the ISF to engage with these in an open and transparent way.The UK signed a Memorandum Of Understanding in July 2016 with the ISF that will provide £13m of funding over three years. This aims to support the police's capabilities to better manage internal security with respect to human rights standards and to gain the trust of the community it serves.

Lebanon: Trials

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made recent representations to his counterpart in Lebanon on civilians being brought to trial in military courts; and if he will make a statement.

Boris Johnson: We have not raised this specific issue with the Lebanese Government. However, the UK monitors these courts closely and we regularly raise the issue of human rights with the Lebanese Government and security agencies. We encourage both to engage with any allegations of human rights violations in an open and transparent way.

Lebanon: UN Interim Force in Lebanon

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of progress on establishing ways to increase UNIFIL’s visible presence in southern Lebanon as set out in paragraph 15 of UN Security Council Resolution 2373.

Boris Johnson: The UK commends the work of UNIFIL in maintaining calm and stability in southern Lebanon over the last 11 years. This is vital for peace, stability, and the security of Lebanon and Israel. We welcome the steps UNIFIL has taken to fulfil UN Security Council Resolution 2373 by increasing the number and quality of land and air patrols in closer cooperation with the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Lebanon: UN Interim Force in Lebanon

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of UNIFIL's powers under its current mandate to (a) detect and (b) disrupt any illicit arms transfers to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Boris Johnson: The UK commends the work of UNIFIL in maintaining calm and stability in southern Lebanon over the last 11 years. We condemn cases where UNIFIL's mandate has been obstructed. The mission must be allowed to fulfil its mandate. We therefore welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2373 passed in August 2017 which re-emphasised UNIFIL's right to take all necessary action to resist attempts to prevent it discharging its duties and a requirement to provide detailed reporting of all violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

USA: Immigration Controls

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on proposals to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have not raised the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme. The programme is a matter for the United States Government.

Hezbollah

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of ongoing UK dialogue with Hezbollah on that organisation’s stance on terrorism.

Alistair Burt: ​There is no ongoing UK dialogue with Hizballah, with whom the UK maintains a no contact policy.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, when he first received the document EU Exit Analysis – Cross Whitehall Briefing.

Mr Robin Walker: The document to which the honorable member refers is preliminary analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. It is not representative of Government policy. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union first saw this document on the evening of the 29th January. This work is part of a wider ongoing programme of analysis being undertaken across Government. The Secretary of State has been updated on the progress of this work periodically.

Brexit

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for the debate on leaving the EU of the arguments published by Marie Demetriou QC, Jessica Simor QC and Tim Ward QC stating that Article 50 can be rescinded.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government has consistently made clear that notification under Article 50 will not be withdrawn. The British people voted to leave the EU and the Government is committed to deliver on their instruction.

Department of Health and Social Care

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the take-up rate for cervical screening in (a) York and (b) England.

Steve Brine: The North Yorkshire and York Health Improvement Plan includes halting the decline in cervical screening coverage by delivering additional training to general practice staff; working with the clinical commissioning group engagement agents and plans to enlist volunteer cancer champions to attend community events and work with local businesses to promote cervical screening. Public Health England (PHE), the Department and NHS England continue to work together to understand and redress the falling participation in the National Health Service cervical screening programme. A range of work is being undertaken by PHE to understand the reasons for the decline in uptake and to support the NHS and local authorities (LAs) to address them. They include access to timely and useful data for benchmarking, evidence on best practices to increase uptake among women who wish to be screened, using governance levers to advice NHS and LAs and working in partnership with commissioners, providers and charities.

Epilepsy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been diagnosed with epilepsy by (a) gender and (b) age in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: Information concerning the number of people diagnosed with epilepsy in the last five years is not available. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that epilepsy affects between 362,000 and 415,000 people in England.

Nurses: North Yorkshire

Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many nurses were employed in Harrogate District and North Yorkshire in (a) 2013-2014, (b) 2014-2015 and (c) 2016-2017.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Hospital and Community Health Service nurses and health visitors in Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which is the main service provider for north Yorkshire, each year from 2013 to 2017. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Nurses and health visitors as at 31 October each specified year (FTE).FTEOctober 2013October 2014October 2015October 2016October 2017Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust7668307891,0921,081Source: NHS Digital HCHS workforce statistics

Charles Bonnet Syndrome

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to raise awareness of Charles Bonnet Syndrome.

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of trends in the number of diagnoses of Charles Bonnet syndrome since 2010.

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of misdiagnosis of Charles Bonnet syndrome since 2010.

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people diagnosed with Charles Bonnet syndrome in (a) each region of the UK and (b) England.

Steve Brine: The NHS Choices website provides comprehensive information on a range of conditions, including Charles Bonnet syndrome. This can be found at: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/charles-bonnet-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx The Department does not hold information on the number of people diagnosed with Charles Bonnet syndrome, nor has any such assessment been made of trends in the number of diagnoses of Charles Bonnet syndrome in recent years. No estimate has been made by the Department of the number of misdiagnoses of Charles Bonnet syndrome or of associated costs to the National Health Service of misdiagnosis.

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the terms of reference are for the forthcoming Public Health England review on addiction to medicine.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set out the proposed authors of the forthcoming Public Health England review on addiction to medicine.

Steve Brine: Public Health England (PHE) will carry out a public-health focused review of commonly prescribed medicines, authorised for adults who have non-cancer pain, anxiety, insomnia or depression. The report will be authored by PHE but will include contributions from academic institutions which will be appointed following a tender process. More information about the review, including its scope and the methods that will be used, is available at: www.gov.uk/government/news/prescribed-medicines-that-may-cause-dependence-or-withdrawal

Arthritis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with (a) spondyloarthritis conditions, (b) ankylosing spondylitis and (c) psoriatic arthritis in the UK in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: This data is not available.

Ankylosing Spondylitis

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessments his Department have made of the adequacy of the availability of specialist care in the NHS for people diagnosed with spondyloarthritis conditions.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the identification and diagnosis of spondyloarthritis conditions in the NHS.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of variation in the quality of care provided in the NHS for people diagnosed with spondyloarthritis conditions.

Steve Brine: The Five Year Forward View has made a specific commitment to do more to support people with long-term conditions and to help them manage their own health. Self-management increases the likelihood of better clinical outcomes, lower rates of hospitalisation and less need for emergency care. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services that offer education and self-management for patients diagnosed with arthritic conditions as well ensuring local arrangements are in place to coordinate care for people across primary and secondary (specialist) settings. In February 2017, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence published the best practice guideline Spondyloarthritis in over 16s: diagnosis and management. The guideline sets out a range of recommendations for clinicians and NHS services, including around the provision of information and support that patients may benefit from, such as: advice about symptoms and self-management; contact details for local and national support organisations; and, information about employment rights and ability to work. The guideline can be found via the following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng65/resources/spondyloarthritis-in-over-16s-diagnosis-and-management-pdf-1837575441349

Parkinson's Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in each of the last five years.

Steve Brine: This data is not available. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that Parkinson’s disease may affect up to 160 people per 100,000, with an annual incidence in the United Kingdom of 15-20 per 100,000.

Hospitals: Parking

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to revise its 2015 guidance on NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking.

Lucy Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many hospitals have revised their policy on car parking since the publication of his Department's guidance in October 2015.

Stephen Barclay: The Department keeps its 2015 guidance on National Health Service patient, visitor and staff car parking under review. Data on how many hospitals have revised their policy on car parking since the publication of the Department’s guidance in October 2015 is not collected centrally. NHS organisations have the autonomy to make decisions that best suit their local circumstances, but it is expected they will follow the published NHS patient, visitor and staff car parking principles.

Muscular Dystrophy: Medical Treatments

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy have access to new treatments in the NHS.

Steve Brine: NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised neurological services, including services for patients with neuromuscular disorders such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. NHS England is working with the Neurological Alliance in support of the new national Neurology Advisory Group, which is considering ways to reduce variation and drive improvement in neurological care. Specialised neuromuscular care may include referral to local physiotherapy, hydrotherapy or rehabilitation if appropriate. Further to this, the Royal College of General Practitioners has developed a learning module with Muscular Dystrophy UK to help general practitioners have a better understanding of their role in the management of neuromuscular conditions. It will also help them recognise the key moments when a patient needs to be referred to a specialist neuromuscular service. The National Institute of Care and Health and Care Excellence is currently developing guidance on the use of eteplirsen (Exondys 51) for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy through its highly specialised technology evaluation programme.

Orphan Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Office of Health Economics Report, Comparing Access to Orphan Medicinal Products (OMPs) in the United Kingdom and other European countries, published in March 2017, what steps he is taking to develop the Highly Specialised Technology appraisal process at NICE.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent body and is responsible for the methods and processes it uses in the development of its guidance and recommendations, including through its Highly Specialised Technologies (HST) programme. NICE periodically reviews its methods and processes to ensure that they remain fit for purpose for the National Health Service in England and introduced changes to its methods for the evaluation of technologies through its HST programme in April 2017 following a public consultation.

NHS: Drugs

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Office of Health Economics' Report, Routine Funding in the NHS in the UK of Medicines Authorised Between 2011 and 2016 via the European Centralised Procedure, published in December 2017.

Steve Brine: Any robust analysis of medicines use in the United Kingdom will be taken into account in the development of future medicines policy. The Government wants patients to be able to benefit from clinically and cost effective new drugs as soon as possible. On 3 November, the Government published its response to the Accelerated Access Review. It set out plans to give patients quicker access to life-changing treatments; and, make the UK the best place in the world for industry to invest and innovate. From April 2018, the new Accelerated Access Pathway will mean selected products with the greatest potential to change lives could be available up to four years earlier by reducing the time taken to negotiate the evaluation and financial approvals necessary before the National Health Service can purchase them.

Blood: Contamination

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who are beneficiaries of contaminated blood ex-gratia support schemes who (a) have and (b) do not have inherited bleeding disorders were alive on 11 July 2017 in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The figures provided are the number of people registered with the infected blood payment schemes as of 11 July 2017. It is possible this may include people who are not alive but their deaths have not been reported to the schemes. The number of people registered with the infected blood payment schemes responsible for beneficiaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at the time of the announcement on 11 July 2017 was as follows:  EnglandWalesNIWith inherited bleeding disorder1,4547359Without inherited bleeding disorder1,57237123  Data is not available for Scotland as it set up a separate infected blood payment scheme which was launched on 1 April 2017.

Blood: Contamination

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people who are beneficiaries of contaminated blood ex-gratia support schemes who (a) have and (b) do not have an inherited bleeding disorder have died since 11 July 2017 in (i) England, (ii) Scotland, (iii) Wales and (iv) Northern Ireland.

Jackie Doyle-Price: It is not possible to provide separate figures for those who have and do not have an inherited bleeding disorder. Not all deaths will have been reported to the current or former infected blood payment schemes, and cause of death is not recorded, so data here cannot be considered to be representative of all deaths since 11 July 2017. The former infected blood payment schemes responsible for beneficiaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland ceased operation on 31 October 2017. A new infected blood support scheme was launched on 1 November 2017 and covers England only. The data is split to reflect these changes. Deaths reported to the former infected blood payments schemes between 11 July 2017 - 31 October 2017: EnglandWalesNorthern IrelandNumber of deaths reported2410 Deaths reported to the England infected blood support scheme between 1 November 2017 - 31 January 2018: EnglandNumber of deaths reported24

Personal Budgets

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for money management arrangements for personal care budgets in social care to be implemented by each local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department has not made an estimate of the average waiting time for money management arrangements for personal budgets implemented by each local authority. The Care Act 2014 statutory guidance provides that everyone who is eligible for care and support will receive a personal budget as part of their care plan. The process of allocating the personal budget should be completed in a timely manner, proportionate to the needs to be met. At all times the person should be informed where they are in the care planning process, what will happen next and the likely timeframes.

NHS: Negligence

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria the Government use to determine whether to settle a case before the commencement of legal proceedings against the NHS; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the application of that criteria in 2016-17.

Stephen Barclay: We have taken this question to relate to claims handled by NHS Resolution. NHS Resolution is responsible for managing clinical and non-clinical claims against the National Health Service. It does not deal with claims against general practitioners and dentists. NHS Resolution has advised that before the commencement of legal proceedings, an assessment is made of whether or not there is a legal liability on the part of the NHS. The vast majority of claims are dealt with under the tort of negligence. This entails investigating both breach of duty and causation, which involves obtaining the accounts of factual witnesses, senior staff at the relevant organisation and, usually, commissioning expert evidence. NHS Resolution aims to resolve as many claims as possible before legal proceedings are commenced. There can be many reasons why legal proceedings are issued and where this is the case, NHS Resolution settles most of these claims out of court. In 2016-17, NHS Resolution:- Settled 67.8% of claims before the commencement of proceedings;- Settled 31.5 % of claims after proceedings were commenced;- Took 0.7% of cases to trial and was successful in 73% of these; and- Resolved 5,252 clinical claims and 2,618 non clinical claims without the payment of damages.

Patients: Surveys

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the value of the data collected by the NHS Friends and Family Test.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS England is responsible for the NHS Friends and Family Test. There is currently a project underway within NHS England’s Insight and Feedback team, which oversees the Friends and Family Test, to look at what is working best and what can be improved in relation to the test. NHS England expects to update the current guidance by April 2019.

NHS: Surveys

Liz McInnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the annual cost to the NHS is of administrating the Staff Friends and Family Test.

Stephen Barclay: NHS England are responsible for the Staff Friends and Family Test (FFT) and are unable to provide a breakdown of the annual cost of administering this test. The Staff FFT is administered from the same budget and by the same staff who work on the patient-facing FFT. The Staff FFT accounts for the smaller element of these costs. In terms of the non-central costs of the FFT process, this is in the hands of local providers and they are responsible for promoting the FFT tool and its outcomes, but the costs are normally minimal. NHS England does not collect this information. During peak activity around the FFT rollout to services in 2014/15, the budget was a little over £5 million. The central spend allocation has been reducing annually to reflect the reduction in work as the FFT becomes “business as usual” across NHS services. In the current year it stands at about £1 million.

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department is providing to NHS Trusts who have (a) set up or (b) are in the process of setting up subsidiary companies within their organisation.

Stephen Barclay: NHS Improvement has advised that no formal guidance has been issued to National Health Service trusts who have set up or are in the process of setting up subsidiary companies within their organisation.

Coca Cola and Mars UK

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings officials of his Department have had with representatives of (a) Coca Cola and (b) Mars in the last twelve months.

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings officials of his Department have had with representatives of the British Soft Drinks Association in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: Officials from the Department have met with representatives from Coca Cola, Mars and the British Soft Drinks Association in the last 12 months. Discussions have included the soft drinks industry levy, sugar reduction and the wider reformulation programme.

Food: Advertising

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to limit children’s exposure to the marketing of food high in fat, salt and sugar.

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle childhood obesity.

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with representatives from social media companies on restricting junk food adverts to children.

Steve Brine: We launched ‘Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action’ in August 2016. Our world-leading plan focuses on actions that are likely to have the biggest impact on reducing obesity in children and young people. Key measures in the plan include the soft drinks industry levy, the sugar reduction and wider reformulation programme, and helping children to enjoy an hour of physical activity every day. ‘Childhood Obesity: A Plan for Action’ is available at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546588/Childhood_obesity_2016__2__acc.pdf Current advertising restrictions in the United Kingdom on high fat, salt or sugar (HFSS) products are among the toughest in the world. Strict new rules came into effect in July 2017 banning the advertising of HFSS food or drink products in children’s media. These restrictions apply across all non-broadcast media including in print, cinema, online and in social media. In August 2017 we announced £5 million investment in a policy research unit on childhood obesity to provide a robust evidence, evaluation and research capability including looking at the impact of marketing on childhood obesity. We will use this, alongside other reports and data published on progress in delivering our world-leading childhood obesity plan, to determine whether sufficient progress has been made and whether alternative levers need to be considered. My Rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health, has not had any recent discussions with representatives from social media companies on restricting junk food adverts to children.

Food: Salt

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor the food industry's adherence to salt targets set by Public Health England; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: In March 2017, Public Health England (PHE) re-published the targets set under the Public Health Responsibility Deal, Salt Reduction targets for 2017, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/salt-reduction-targets-for-2017 The targets, due to be achieved by the end of 2017, provide guidance to industry on the levels of salt that they should be aiming to achieve across around 80 individual product categories. PHE will publish an assessment of industry’s progress against the targets later this year.

First Aid

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to improve public awareness of basic life-saving first aid techniques.

Steve Brine: Information on first aid techniques is available on the NHS Choices website: https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/category.aspx?CategoryID=72 NHS organisations may offer first aid courses for businesses, organisations or individuals. In order to further support the National Health Service and local communities, the Government provided £2 million to make public access defibrillators more widely available and to increase the numbers of people trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The national Public Health England ‘Act FAST’ campaign aims to raise awareness of the symptoms of stroke, teach people what to look out for in themselves and others, and encourage those who notice the symptoms to call 999.

Breast Cancer: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124907, where the Invitation to Tender documentation for Central and East London breast screening services was published.

Steve Brine: The contract opportunity was advertised on the Official Journal of the European Union and on Contracts Finder in line with applicable procurement legislation and NHS England’s internal procurement procedures. The tender documentation was made electronically available to potential bidders on an online eTendering portal, ProContract, and the aforementioned public advertisements provided any interested providers the instructions and links to navigate to and access the tender documentation. Links to these advertisements are provided below for information: http://ted.europa.eu/TED/notice/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:388022-2016:TEXT:EN:HTML https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/7b3a8118-bbcb-42f2-bb6c-4f2a5d024887

NHS Improvement

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS Improvement is an umbrella body in which Monitor and the Trust Development Authority reside with their individual legal statuses unchanged.

Stephen Barclay: From 1 April 2016, NHS Improvement is the operational name for an organisation that brings together the following: Monitor, NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA), Patient Safety (including the National Reporting and Learning System), Advancing Change Team, and Intensive Support Teams. Monitor and the TDA remain separate legal entities and their status has not changed.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many times face-down restraint was used on people under 18 years-old in mental health units since 2010 to date.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As set out in the Mental Health Services Data Set, the total number of prone physical restrictive interventions for those aged under 18 in 2016/17 was 1,983. This figure is taken from the first publication of annual figures on the use of restrictive interventions in inpatient mental health, learning disabilities and autism services and earlier data is therefore not available. NHS Digital is continuing to review and improve what is currently an experimental statistical collection.

Mental Health: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has he made of the effect of the level of household income on the mental health of under 18 year-olds.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The ‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain’ survey was carried out in 2004 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on behalf of the Department and the Scottish Executive. It is available at the following link: http://digital.nhs.uk/catalogue/PUB06116 The summary report describes the prevalence of mental disorders among five to 16 year olds as well as the characteristics and behavioural patterns in various categories and subgroups, including household income. In 2004 the prevalence of mental disorders was greater among children in families with a gross weekly household income of less than £100 (16%) compared with those with an income of £600 or more (5%). The ONS and NatCen have been conducting the 2017 survey on behalf of NHS Digital, with publication of the findings expected in late 2018.

Mental Health Services: Migrant Workers

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many EU nationals work in specialist NHS mental health services.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Specialised mental health workers are not identified separately in the workforce statistics. Therefore information is not available in the format requested.

Schools: Nurses

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the proportion of state primary schools which have a school nurse.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the proportion of state secondary schools which have a school nurse.

Jackie Doyle-Price: School nurses are not based in or employed by schools and they will usually cover a cluster of secondary schools and their feeder primary schools. The delivery of services within schools is for local determination and commissioning for the service is led by local authorities. Some schools will choose to commission additional school nursing capacity to meet specific identified public health needs. Due to the variable nature of a school nurse’s commitments no national data exists on the proportion of schools that currently have a school nurse.

General Practitioners: Lincolnshire

Sir Edward Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to attract GPs to work in Lincolnshire.

Steve Brine: We recognise the acute shortages in general practice, particularly in Lincolnshire. However, we are advised that there has been recent successful international recruitment, with 26 international general practitioners (GPs) now working in the county. Health Education England has offered 85 £20,000 salary supplements in the past two years to GP trainees who have committed to spend their three year specialty training in Lincolnshire. This year, for the first time, Lincolnshire has filled all of its GP trainee positions.

NHS: Vacancies

Dan Carden: What assessment he has made of trends in the level of vacancies across the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: Only a very small proportion of shifts are ever left vacant – where a substantive staff member is not in place, nurse leaders are able to utilise bank and agency staff to ensure they provide high quality care to their patients. There are now almost 42,700 more professionally qualified clinical staff working in the National Health Service since 2010, as well as almost 14,200 more nurses on our wards.

Accountable Care Organisations

Steve McCabe: What plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to establish Accountable Care Organisations in the NHS.

Stephen Barclay: The proposed regulation changes do not ‘create’ Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs). It is the awarding of an ACO contract by local commissioners that would create an ACO. The regulations simply ensure that current rules continue to apply to any ACO contract. NHS England has promised to publicly consult on the ACO contract before it is used anywhere in the NHS. The Department will not bring forward legislation until NHS England has consulted on the draft ACO contract.

Life Sciences

Paul Scully: What progress the Government has made on implementing the recent life sciences strategy.

Jackie Doyle-Price: In December 2017, Government and the life sciences sector agreed a landmark sector deal that follows on from, and starts to implement, the sector-led Life Sciences Industrial Strategy.An Implementation Board for this will convene in the coming weeks to discuss implementation of the Deal and wider Strategy, with working sub-groups to lead on specific aspects of the Deal.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Standards

Stephen Timms: What progress the NHS has made on meeting the A&E waiting time target by March 2018.

Stephen Barclay: Latest data shows that over two million people were seen in accident and emergency (A&E) in December 2017 and despite increasing demand, nearly nine out of 10 people are assessed and then admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. The National Health Service is now seeing over 1,800 more patients within four hours every single day compared to 2009/10.The Government has given the NHS an additional £1.6 billion to support and improve performance. The investment will be used to treat a quarter of a million more patients in A&E and for improved A&E performance, with the overall four hour standard achieved within the course of next year.

General Practitioners: Labour Turnover

Tony Lloyd: What estimate his Department has made of the number of GPs who plan to leave general practice in the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: We know that one of the main reasons GPs leave general practice is retirement. That is why we have put in place comprehensive measures to ensure we meet our commitment of an extra 5,000 GPs in the NHS by 2020. GP Career Plus, the GP Retention Scheme and the National GP Induction and Refresher Scheme will all help get valuable experienced GPs back into our NHS. 3,157 GP training places were also filled in 2017 – the highest number ever.

Department for International Development

Refugees: EU Action

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what representations she has made to her counterparts in other EU Member States on developing safe routes for people fleeing war, armed conflict and persecution.

Alistair Burt: The UK has actively and regularly engaged with the EU in developing Global Compacts on Migration and on Refugees, which aim to support well-managed, safe migration and to provide more effective, long-term support to refugees fleeing conflict and violence. We also work closely with other EU Member States to coordinate our support to vulnerable people on the move, including through our contribution to the Emergency EU Trust Fund for Africa and broader support along the key migration routes in Africa. We regularly engage with EU counterparts on resettlement, including through the European Asylum Support Office, and the UN core groups on resettlement, such as the Central Med group and the Syria Core Group, which the UK has chaired since April 2017.

South Sudan: Overseas Aid

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to secure humanitarian access to South Sudan.

Harriett Baldwin: South Sudan is one of the most challenging operating environments in the world, but as a result of our implementing partners’ efforts, UKAid is reaching hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan. Last year the UK provided lifesaving support that reached over 500,000 people with food assistance, provided safe drinking water for 300,000 people and over 5 million health consultations for children under 5. However, the international community continues to face obstructions to the delivery of humanitarian aid by all parties to the conflict in South Sudan; 2017 was the worst year for access so far, with 1,159 incidents reported. Alongside our international partners, the UK is engaging with South Sudan’s leaders at the highest level to make clear that physical and bureaucratic obstacles to the delivery of lifesaving aid must cease immediately.

Department for International Development: Capita

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many contracts her Department holds with Capita; and what the total value of those contracts is.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID currently holds no centrally let contracts with Capita. DFID calls down from a cross-Government corporate contract with Capita from a central framework agreement held by the Crown Commercial Service and has a number of low value purchase orders with Capita. DFID’s spend on Capita for financial year 2017/2018 totals £443,332.05.

Palestinian Authority

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the Answer of 12 October 2016, to Question 46979 on Palestinian Authority, if she will place in the Library a copies of her Department's formal assessments of the Palestinian Authority's commitment to the Partnership Principles.

Alistair Burt: DFID does not routinely publish Partnership Principles assessments. The most recent assessment concluded that the Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to deliver on the Partnership Principles. HMG officials will complete their next assessment of the PA’s compliance with the Partnership Principles before the next annual Memorandum of Understanding dialogue with the PA. The date of the next dialogue has not yet been confirmed, but is likely to be completed by the first half of 2018.

Palestinians: Newspaper Press and Television

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and her Department, what discussions her Department has had with the PA on the description by the newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jadida and official PA television on 8 January 2017 of the perpetrator of a terrorist attack as a martyr who died for Allah.

Alistair Burt: The UK Government deplores any act of incitement to violence; the Secretary of State and I raised the issue of incitement during our respective bilateral meetings with senior Palestinian counterparts in January 2018. Our partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA) includes a commitment from the Palestinian leadership to adhere to the principle of non-violence and to tackle language and avoid actions that could incite violence or hatred. The UK continues to urge the Palestinian leadership to uphold this principle.

Developing Countries: Energy

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, with reference to the report entitled Valuing Human Waste as an Energy Resource, published by United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in 2015, what funding her Department has provided for the development of energy from human waste in developing countries.

Harriett Baldwin: DFID recognises the potential for use of human waste in energy generation. DFID is supporting a programme to pilot the use of faecal sludge and organic waste from homes, public toilets and factories in producing biogas energy, soil conditioner and animal feeds. The programme supports small and medium sized enterprises to develop new products. This programme is in partnership with companies such as Unilever, multi-laterals such as the Asian Development Bank and Non-Governmental Organisations such as WaterAid. It works in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and India.

Department for Education

Pupil Referral Units

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupil referral units have applied to convert to academy status in each of the last five years; and how many pupil referral units have converted to (a) alternative provision academies and (b) other forms of special school in that same period.

Nadhim Zahawi: Between 2013 and 2018 70 Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) have applied to convert to academy status, as shown in table 1 below. Please note that schools may apply more than once. Where this has been the case, we have taken the most recent application date. During the same period, 76 PRUs have converted to alternative provision academies, as shown below. No PRU has opened as any other form of special school. Table 1. Number of Pupil Referral Units that applied to convert to an academy, and number of PRUs opened as alternative provision academies 2013-2018Year of applicationNumber of applications from PRUsNumber of PRUs opened as alternative provision academies[1]201314162014614201513142016171420172015201803Total7076   Source: Internal Management Information and Get Information about Schools extract (January 2018).[1] This includes PRUs that converted as either a sponsored or converter alternative provision academy and some may not have submitted an application.

Schools: Finance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional funding his Department provides to schools with child refugees and pupils with English as a second language in (a) England and (b) Yorkshire and Humber.

Nick Gibb: The national funding formula will allocate £404 million across England and £32 million to Yorkshire and the Humber to support children with English as an additional language. These figures are based on the formula being implemented in full based on 2017-18 data.The Department does not provide additional funding to schools specifically for child refugees. However, schools attract funding through the pupil premium if a child refugee is looked after by a local authority, or through the national funding formula if the child is classed as having English as an additional language (as outlined above) or other additional needs such as low prior attainment.Schools receive £1,900 through the pupil premium for every child attending their school who is looked after by a local authority.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding he plans to allocate to the National SENCO Forum over the next three years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The department does not provide direct funding to the National SENCO Forum. We recognise that the National SENCO Forum is a valuable online resource, which is why we host the IT platform that supports it on the Department for Education GOV.UK website. We are committed to working closely with the Chair of the forum to secure the future of the SENCO Forum and ensure it is accessible to as many users as possible.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Bim Afolami: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will take steps to increase (a) financial and (b) other support for schools with a high proportion of SEN pupils.

Nadhim Zahawi: The government is allocating £6 billion in high needs funding to local authorities in 2018/19. Local authorities are required to delegate funds to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) up to £6,000 per annum, and should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover excess costs when required. The local authority can also choose to give additional funding from its high needs budget to schools that have a disproportionate number of pupils with SEN. If a school has concerns about the level of funding they receive for their pupils with SEN, they should discuss those concerns with their local authority. For further information, please see paragraph 81 of the high needs funding operational guide, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2018-to-2019.

Foster Care

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that sibling groups in the foster system are placed together.

Nadhim Zahawi: The statutory framework is clear that local authorities must ensure a placement enables a child to live with their sibling, if the sibling is also looked after. However, it is not always possible or appropriate to place sibling groups together. The child’s – or children’s - best interests are paramount. Where siblings cannot be placed together, contact should be actively encouraged and facilitated unless this goes against the child’s best interest.Every child’s care plan must contain information about the arrangements for promoting and maintaining contact with siblings who are not placed together.

Foster Care

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to improve consistency in foster care payments by area.

Nadhim Zahawi: The National Minimum Standards for fostering services (NMS) are clear that every foster parent should receive an allowance that covers the full cost of caring for a child. The government recommends a minimum allowance that fostering service providers should pay to their foster parents each week to cover the costs involved in looking after a child or young person. It is set out as a benchmark standard in the NMS and offers some consistency in the allowances paid by local authorities.Whilst it is for local authorities to decide the rate paid to foster parents in their area, our strong expectation is that foster parents with a child in placement will be paid at least the national minimum allowance. We know a number of fostering service providers already base their fostering allowances on rates that are higher than those recommended by the government. The National Fostering Stocktake, an independent review of the fostering system in England, has now concluded. The department will carefully consider any recommendations made by the review and the Education Select Committee on payments to foster parents. The government response will be published in spring 2018.

Educational Psychology

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2018 to Question 125058, how many educational psychologists were employed in each local authority in each year for which information is available.

Nadhim Zahawi: The attached table provides the number of educational psychologists (EPs) that were reported as being directly employed by each local authority in November 2010 to November 2016. The list excludes local authorities where EP provision has been outsourced or the provision has been shared with other local authorities. It would also be open to academies and free schools to obtain their own provision. The figures may also undercount the actual number of EPs in England and do not provide a comparable national year-on-year series because it is based on a varying percentage of local authorities returns in each year (between 91 and 95 per cent).  



Number of Educational Psychologists 2010-2016
(Excel SpreadSheet, 29.08 KB)

Department for Education: Official Engagements

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will publish (a) his, (b) his Ministers' and (c) his Parliamentary Under-Secretary of States' ministerial diary entries for 18 January 2018 with information relating to each event.

Anne Milton: Ministers’ diaries hold a range of meetings, including regular meetings with departmental officials, meetings with external stakeholders, and visits to a various organisations. Details of all Ministerial meetings with external organisations for January will be published on GOV.UK in due course: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dfe-ministers-quarterly-returns.

Department for Education: Telephone Services

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide a list of the helplines his Department funds for (a) special education needs and disabilities, (b) looked after children, (c) adopted children and (d) children in kinship care; and helplines her Department funds for use by (i) carers, (ii) parents and (iii) children.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Education currently funds the following helplines:National Adoption Gateway (First4Adoption), a national information service for people interested in adopting a child in England.Foster Line, which offers free confidential help and support to new and prospective foster carers.Family Rights Group, who offer free, comprehensive, specialist support, including legal advice, to all parents whose children are at risk of being taken into care and to family and friends carers (kinship carers).ChildLine, a safe number for children to call confidentially for help and advice about a wide range of issues.Coram Children’s Legal Centre Child Law Advice Service, who provide free legal advice and representation to children.Gingerbread, who provide expert advice and practical support for single mums and dads in England and Wales.Coram Voice - Always Heard, an advocacy advice service used as a safety net for children who, for whatever reason, are denied access to advocacy locally.Family Lives, who offer a confidential and free helpline service for information, advice, guidance and support on any aspect of parenting and family life, including bullying.Family Matters Institute, who provide advice on matters concerning marriage, family life and relationships, working through Digital Services, Training and Research.Contact, who provide a Freephone helpline for parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities.Family Fund Trust, who provide a telephone service with essential information for families with disabled and seriously ill children who are looking to apply for a grant.KIDS, who provide a telephone voicemail line for professionals from local authorities to inform the team if they would like support to develop SEND participation in their area, as well as to share good practice examples. The department also provides a grant to the NSPCC Helpline, which is a number adults can call to get advice or share their concerns about a child, anonymously if they wish.

Education and Skills Funding Agency

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what criteria were used to determine the composition of the interim management board of the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Anne Milton: Following the creation of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) in April 2017, the governance of the agency was agreed and included a Management Board to provide strategic leadership and direction, and to challenge and advise on the overall performance of the ESFA.In the interests of good governance, ESFA put in place interim arrangements for the Management Board whilst the public appointments process proceeded.The criteria used were that the interim board be made up primarily of members who had served on the Education Funding Agency or Skills Funding Agency management/advisory boards. All except one were appointed through the public appointments process. An additional member was invited to take up a position temporarily, but as they have not been publically appointed, this interim appointment will be until August 2018 and aims to enable a wider breadth of membership during the period while the formal appointments are being made. These arrangements provide the stability and expertise needed to ensure a smooth transition to the ESFA and a sound governance structure for ESFA.

Collective Spirit Multi-Academy Trust

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much (a) capital and (b) school funding the Collective Spirit Multi Academy Trust has received since its foundation.

Nadhim Zahawi: The total capital costs for the Collective Spirit Free School, including construction and acquisition costs are £2,415,800. From September 2013 to August 2017, Collective Spirit Free School received £4,631,366 in school funding which is made up of four elements - School Block, Pupil Premium, Year 7 Catch-up and Rates. School funding data is in the public domain on GOV.UK.

Pre-school Education: Food

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will extend the statutory school food standards to all early-year settings.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Early Years Foundation Stage framework welfare requirement is that where food and drink is provided by early years settings, this must be ‘healthy, balanced and nutritious’. We have recently published example menus and guidance to help early years settings meet this requirement, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/example-menus-for-early-years-settings-in-england. Maintained nursery schools and nursery units within primary schools must continue to meet the mandatory food-based standards for school lunches.

Department for Education: Child Care Vouchers

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many employees in his Department make use of the childcare voucher scheme.

Anne Milton: There are 886 employees in receipt of childcare vouchers in the Department for Education. This includes employees in the department’s Executive Agencies which include the Education and Skills Funding Agency, the National College for Teaching and Leadership and the Standards and Testing Agency.

Primary Education: Nurseries

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information he holds on the proportion of primary schools which do not have a nursery attached.

Nadhim Zahawi: According to January 2017 statistics on schools, pupils and their characteristics, around 56% of state funded primary schools did not have any nursery pupils registered at the school. Figures for 2018 will be published later this year.

Children's Centres: Inspections

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 124199 on children's centre inspections, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that future inspections are fit for purpose.

Nadhim Zahawi: I refer the hon. Member for Batley and Spen to the answer I gave on 2 February 2018 to Question 125731 [http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-01-30/125731/].

Teachers

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the level of demand for new teachers in each region of England during 2017-18; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department uses the Teacher Supply Model (TSM) to estimate national postgraduate Initial Teacher Training (ITT) place requirements for primary and each secondary subject to meet future demand. As a national model, the TSM is not used to assess teachers needed in each region. The most recently published model (covering 2018/19 ITT) is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tsm-and-initial-teacher-training-allocations-2018-to-2019. Models relating to previous ITT recruitment rounds can be found via the same link. To support ITT providers we have also published a range of analysis on local teacher supply in the first two teachers analysis compendiums:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/teachers-analysis-compendium-2017https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/teachers-analysis-compendium-2. Data on the number of teacher trainees recruited to ITT may be found within the ITT census publication. The number of new trainees per region is found in table 9. The latest published data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census-2017-to-2018.

Apprentices: Pay

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 123942, whether it is his policy that apprentices transferred from Carillion Training Services will be paid beyond the end of January; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: We have taken steps to protect learners by transferring the training of all Carillion apprentices to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). CITB has already secured new employment, with wages, for over half of the apprentices and are working progressively to find alternative employers for all those affected. At present, it has been agreed that all former Carillion apprentices will continue to be paid beyond 31 January, whilst alternative employers are being sought.

Ministry of Justice

Approved Premises: Crimes of Violence

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many National Probation Service staff working in approved premises have been assaulted by residents in the most recent two years for which data is available.

Rory Stewart: Holding answer received on 05 February 2018



There were 16 reported assaults on National Probation Service staff in Approved Premises in 2016 and eight in 2017. The above data have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the possibility of inaccuracy inherent in any large-scale recording system.

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how the post-implementation review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 will be conducted.

Lucy Frazer: The Post-Implementation Review shall focus on the major changes to the legislative framework for legal aid which were introduced as part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and subsequently.As part of the review we will be reaching out to experts and interested parties in the relevant fields to inform the evidence gathering process.

Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times representatives of his Department met with representatives of Amey to discuss that company’s performance in contracts for prison maintenance in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Rory Stewart: Representatives of the Department at all levels involved in the monitoring of delivery of contracts for prison maintenance meet with Amey on a frequent basis. This includes weekly meetings at an operational site level through to at least monthly meetings at a leadership level. Leadership teams also met to discuss specific issues and such meetings have been more frequent over the past 18 months. We do not hold a record of the number of total number of meetings.

Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times representatives of his Department have met with representatives of Amey to discuss that company’s  performance relating to prison maintenance since the liquidation of Carillion.

Rory Stewart: The Department continues to meet with Amey as explained within the answer to 125372.

Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times his Department issued letters of concern to Amey on that company's delivery of contracts for prison maintenance in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Rory Stewart: Formal concerns about issues with the delivery of the contract are issued through the Early Warning Notice and Defect provisions as laid out in the NEC3 standard form of contract which is employed for prison maintenance.

Amey

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government paid more than the initial estimate to Amey for its maintenance of prisons in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Rory Stewart: There was an underestimation of the historical costs of maintenance and services, which meant that more of the award has been spent on maintenance and services rather than efficiency savings. As a result, the contract is expected to cost more than the initial estimate to Amey for its maintenance of prisons.

Courts: Travel

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average distance travelled by (a) victims, (b) witnesses and (c) court staff to court was in each year since 2010.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken was by (a) victims, (b) witnesses and (c) court staff to travel to court by public transport in each year since 2010.

Lucy Frazer: HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not collect or hold any data relating to the average distance travelled or the average journey times for victims, witnesses or court staff. Ongoing investment in the transformation and modernisation of our courts and tribunals will enable the use of digital technology and online services. These will improve access to justice by reducing the need to attend court in person.

Cohabitation

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Law Commission’s 2001 report on Cohabitation.

Lucy Frazer: The Law Commission’s proposals on cohabitation are contained in its 2007 report. The Government will be considering how to proceed in relation to the Law Commission’s proposals in the context of any further reforms to the family justice system.

Young Offenders: Vietnam

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Vietnamese children were prosecuted between 2012-17; and, of that number, how many (a) were convicted of an offence and (b) are serving custodial sentences as a result of those convictions.

Dr Phillip Lee: The information requested is not held centrally.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Housing: Forests

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that ancient woodlands and trees are protected during the construction of new housing developments.

Dominic Raab: The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) affords strong protection to ancient woodland, and aged or veteran trees. We acknowledged in the Housing White Paper, that this protection could be further clarified and intend to publish a draft NPPF for consultation early this year.In the event planning permission is granted for development, the local planning authority can impose planning conditions to ensure the protection of trees and ancient woodland to be retained, in line with the policies set out in the NPPF.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on how many residents of the Grenfell Walkways have been rehoused as at 26 January 2018.

Dominic Raab: As of 29 January, figures from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea show that 40 households from Barandon, Hurstway and Testerton Walks (collectively known as ‘the Walkways’) who moved into emergency accommodation as a result of the fire, have now been housed in interim accommodation.The Council set out a draft permanent rehousing policy that applies to residents of the Walkways who do not wish to return to their homes; the public consultation on this policy ended on 5 January and the Council will take residents’ views into account when they confirm a final policy.We are working closely with the Council to ensure residents are able to return to their homes where possible. The Government has allocated £15 million of funds in the recent budget, which will be matched by the Council, to invest into the Lancaster West Estate to make it a model for social housing and a wonderful, vibrant place to live.

Housing: Swindon

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many (a) new build planning approvals and (b) houses built there were in Swindon in each year since 2010.

Dominic Raab: a) Estimates of the residential planning applications granted (planning approvals) for England and in each local authority district, year to September quarter 2017, are shown in table P136 at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-planning-application-statisticsEarlier versions of table P136 are also available from the same link:those for years ending July 2012 to June 2017 are under the heading, “Historical Live Tables”, andthose for years ending September 2010 to June 2012 are available from the relevant link to the National Archives.b) Estimates of house building; new build dwellings completions for England and in each local authority district, to September quarter 2017, are shown in Live Table 253a at the following link.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-buildingThese cover new build dwellings only and should be regarded as a leading indicator of overall housing supply. The Department also publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply.

Sleeping Rough

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of rough sleeping in England in each of the next five years.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: We have committed to halving rough sleeping by 2022 and eliminating it altogether by 2027. The Rough Sleeping and Homelessness Reduction Taskforce will design and drive forward the implementation of a cross-Government strategy to achieve this. This will include a timeline and action plan for meeting this commitment.

Owner Occupation

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish the number of home-owning households in each region of England for each year since 2009-10 for which information is available.

Dominic Raab: Data on home ownership rates, by region can be found on the department's website. See AT 1.2 here for time series data: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/676433/2016-17_Section_1_Households_Annex_Tables.xlsx

Planning Permission

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a timetable for implementing the measures yet to be commenced in the (a) Housing and Planning Act 2016 and (b) Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017.

Dominic Raab: Except with reference to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 1 November 2017 (HL2050), the Government is fully committed to implementing all measures across both the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and the Neighbourhood Planning Act 2017.We are taking end-to-end action to fix our broken housing market through our wider package of reforms, including last year’s Housing White Paper and the measures announced at Autumn Budget. We regularly update the House on progress towards fixing our broken housing market, and will continue to do so.

Compulsory Purchase

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will publish a list of meetings (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with organisations outside of his Department on the matter of compulsory purchase since 1 May 2017.

Dominic Raab: Details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on Gov.uk and can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dclg-ministerial-dataSince May 2017 departmental officials have met with Transport for London, Homes England, Scottish Government, the Country Land and Business Association, the Compulsory Purchase Association, Shelter and the National Infrastructure Commission to discuss general compulsory purchase matters.

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on extending the right to buy scheme to housing association tenants across England.

Dominic Raab: The Government is committed to ensuring that housing association tenants achieve the aspiration of home ownership, and to the voluntary agreement reached with housing associations.   In the Autumn Budget 2017 the Government announced a £200 million voluntary Right to Buy regional pilot in the Midlands. This will give thousands more housing association tenants the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of home ownership.

Housing

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on bringing forward legislative proposals to reform leaseholds and registered social landlords.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for leaseholders and freeholders and on 21 December 2017 set out a range of measures to tackle abuses and unfair practices in the leasehold market.This includes introducing legislation to prohibit the development of new build leasehold houses, other than in exceptional circumstances; restricting ground rents in newly established leases of houses and flats to a peppercorn (zero financial value); and working with the Law Commission to support existing leaseholders - including making buying a freehold or extending a lease easier, faster, fairer and cheaper.We will bring forward legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.We are also aiming to publish the Social Housing Green Paper in the spring. We have met a number of Registered Social Landlords and their tenants as part of this wide ranging review of the issues and concerns relating to social housing.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many successful prosecutions there have there been for failure to comply with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme under ss212-3 of the Housing Act 2004.

Mrs Heather Wheeler: A tenant is able to apply to County court if they believe that their landlord has not complied with the legislation in protecting their deposit appropriately.Details about court proceedings and their outcomes is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

Carillion

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 31 January 2018 to Question 125191, where that information on the amounts being charged for the on-going provision of services is published.

Rishi Sunak: The overriding principle is that the official receiver and his special managers cannot provide services without ensuring that the cost of delivering those services is adequately covered.Local authorities are independent bodies, elected by and accountable to local communities. It is the responsibility of individual authorities to publish details of all spend above £500 under the transparency code.We have, however, been working through the Local Government Association to understand whether affected local authorities in England have robust contingency plans in place to manage the impacts of Carillion failing.

Ministry of Defence

World War I: Anniversaries

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to support commemorations of the First World War during 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: The Government and the nation will never forget the service and sacrifice of those who served during the First World War. It is our duty to remember and honour the fallen.The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has contributed significantly to the Government's four-year First World War commemorative programme, both at home and abroad, and continues to do so; the programme is led by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This is in addition to single Service initiatives delivered at, for instance, Regimental (or equivalent) level.In 2018 the MOD will further support the Government's programme at a commemorative event to mark the appointment of Marshal Foch as Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front, a service to mark the Battle of Amiens, and at a number of events throughout the UK to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice, including the traditional London-based Cenotaph Service.

Army: Training

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding his Department plans to provide for officer training corps units in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) the UK in the current financial year.

Mark Lancaster: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 November 2017 to Question 112448 to the hon. Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson), which includes the planned funding for University Officer Training Corps for financial year 2017-18.



112448 - WQnA extract on Reserve Forces
(Word Document, 22.38 KB)

Armed Forces: Training

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the costs to the public purse of military training in 2017.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence undertakes a wide range of training activity; from Phase 1 and Phase 2 training for new recruits, through to complex joint exercises with other nations to specialist training for specific trades and skills requirements, such as nuclear engineering. The costs for these activities encompass nearly all the Defence Lines of Development and could not be broken out without incurring disproportionate cost.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Royal Navy and (b) RAF ab initio student pilots are training to fly UK F-35 aircraft.

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Royal Navy and (b) RAF ab initio student pilots his Department plans to be fully trained to fly the F-35 by that aircraft's forecast initial operational capability in late-2018.

Mark Lancaster: It is planned that there will be four ab initio pilots, two Royal Navy and two Royal Air Force, fully trained to fly the F-35 aircraft on 617 Squadron when it becomes operational in 2018. The Lightning Force's first operational squadron will have a total strength of 14 pilots.

USA: Armed Forces

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the role of British Forces stationed at Nellis Air Force base is.

Mark Lancaster: There are no British Forces stationed at Nellis Air Force Base.

Military Aircraft

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of the Royal Airforce aircrafts (a) Panavia Tornado GR4, (b) Eurofighter Typhoon and (c) Chinook Helicopters were serviceable on the first day of each month of 2016.

Guto Bebb: The number of RAF Tornado and Typhoon aircraft and Chinook helicopters in the Forward and Sustainment Fleets at the beginning of each month for 2016 is shown below:  TornadoTyphoonChinookMonth 2016Forward FleetSustainment FleetForward FleetSustainment FleetForward FleetSustainment FleetJanuary493792403525February493691413723March513289434020April493291414317May473390424119June463291414317July453191434416August482689454119September482688464020October482488464020November442690444119December462390444218 The Forward Fleet comprises serviceable and short term unserviceable aircraft. Typically, the short term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other unforeseen rectification or technical inspection that can arise on a day-to-day basis. The sustainment fleet includes aircraft airframes undergoing upgrade or maintenance or being held in storage. The number of aircraft available varies day-to-day, according to normal fleet management activities.

Type 45 Destroyers

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2018 to Question 125089, what progress has been made on assessing the potential of the Royal Navy's Type 45 Destroyers to operate in a ballistic missile defence role.

Guto Bebb: The Royal Navy has continued to explore the potential for Type 45 Destroyers to operate in a ballistic missile defence role. However, I will withhold further detail as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

RAF Valley

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many jobs BAE Systems contracts sustains at RAF Valley.

Guto Bebb: BAE Systems currently employs 78 people at RAF Valley.

Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current manning liability is of (a) The Royal Navy, (b) The Army and (c) the RAF.

Mark Lancaster: This information is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/659404/20171001_-_SPS.pdf

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on recruiting rejoiners to the (a) Royal Navy, (b) Army and (c) RAF in each of the last five years.

Mark Lancaster: This information is not held in the format requested.

Trident

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make the use of Trident conditional upon not being used at 10 knots per hour or more or at a height of less than 200 metres above land.

Gavin Williamson: It is UK policy that we do not comment on matters relating to the activity or operations of our deterrent for the purpose of safeguarding national security.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the F-35B first-of-class flying trials on board HMS Queen Elizabeth are due to begin.

Guto Bebb: We will begin first-of-class flying trials for F-35B on board HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH in the autumn.

Ministry of Defence: Cost Effectiveness

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the value of the savings his Department must generate by the end of 2020-21.

Gavin Williamson: In the 2015 Spending Review, the Ministry of Defence agreed to an efficiency target of £7.4 billion between 2016 and 2021.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pensions: Advisory Services

Paul Masterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the state pension will be included in the pensions dashboard when it launches in 2019.

Guy Opperman: As announced on 19th October 2017, DWP is leading a feasibility study, working with industry, consumer-facing organisations and the regulators to explore the key issues and determine a path towards implementation for the Pensions Dashboard. The results of this feasibility study will be published shortly.Government remains committed to ensuring that State Pension forms part of the Pensions Dashboard. Until State Pension information is available on a dashboard, people can access the online ‘Check your State Pension’ service through GOV.UK to get a forecast of their State Pension, where they can get information about how they may be able to improve it, and view their National Insurance contribution record.

Social Security Benefits: Haringey

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many benefit sanctions were imposed on benefit claimants in the (a) London Borough of Haringey and (b) Tottenham constituency for a period of (i) one month, (ii) three months and (iii) any other length of time in each year since 2013.

Alok Sharma: The information requested by local authority and parliamentary constituency is not currently available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department will be making changes to the geographical information available for the next release of the sanctions statistics on 21 February 2018.The available information on sanction durations for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC) can be found in the official experimental statistics as part of the published official statistics on sanctions. These statistics can be found on pages 11-13 of the pdf document and tables 2.7 and 3.1 available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-sanctions-statistics-2017

Skilled Workers

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on (a) identifying and (b) filling skills gaps in the labour market.

Alok Sharma: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions talks regularly with the Secretary of State for Education, and the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, but has not yet had any formal discussions about identifying and filling the skills gaps in the labour market.

Universal Credit: Appeals

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124093, on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, how many people waited (a) less than one month, (b) less than two months, (c) less than three months, (d) less than four months, (e) less than five months, (f) less than six months and (g) six months or more for mandatory reconsideration for universal credit in each year since its introduction.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is shown in the table below:Universal Credit (UC)Mandatory Reconsiderations (MR) cleared within each time period-1 month2 months3 months4 months5 months6 months6 months +TotalApr 2014 – Mar 20151,89030#####1,920Apr 2015 – Mar 201616,3701501010###16,550Apr 2016 – Mar 201718,0003,9103,8901,32060303027,260Apr 2017 – Dec 201724,4807,190870240130404032,990 Notes:Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.‘#’ means fewer than 5 in this category.

Universal Credit and Welfare Tax Credits: Children

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much her Department plans to allocate from the public purse to the childcare element of (a)tax credits and (b) universal credit in each of the next five years.

Alok Sharma: HMRC currently estimate spending around £1.2bn per annum on the childcare element of Working Tax Credit. This figure will decrease as tax credits claimants gradually move across to Universal Credit, and spending on childcare under Universal Credit will increase accordingly.The profile of spending on childcare in Universal Credit is as follows:Ann. cost 17/18Ann. cost 18/19Ann. cost 19/20Ann. cost 20/21Ann. cost 21/22£100m£300m£800m£1200m£1500mNotes:The figures in the table above are derived from internal DWP models, and costs have been rounded to the nearest £100 million.Further information on spending on childcare on Universal Credit can be found at paragraph 5.10 and table 5.4 of the Welfare Trends Report which can be accessed at:http://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/WelfareTrends2018cm9562.pdf

Poverty: Children

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress her Department has made towards meeting the 2020 poverty reduction targets set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Kit Malthouse: Tackling child poverty and disadvantage is a priority for this government. To do this requires an approach that goes beyond the safety net of the welfare state to tackle the root causes of poverty and disadvantage. This is why the income-related targets and the requirement to publish a child poverty strategy set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010 have been repealed. In their place, we introduced statutory measures to drive action on parental worklessness and children’s educational attainment – the two areas that we know can make the biggest difference to disadvantaged children. The Government has a statutory duty to report annually to Parliament on these indicators and will do so again in March 2018.The links to the latest report and available data are below:Statutory reporthttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workless-households-and-educational-attainment-statutory-indicatorsChildren in workless householdshttps://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/workingandworklesshouseholds/julytoseptember2017Children in long-term workless householdshttps://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/childrenlivinginlongtermworklesshouseholdsuk2016Children’s educational attainment at key stage 4 for all pupils and disadvantaged pupilshttps://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2016-to-2017

Members: Correspondence

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to reply to the letter of 18 December 2017 from the hon. Member for Sefton Central on the personal independence payment award to Mrs Sheila Ellis.

Kit Malthouse: The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, my hon. Friend the member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), replied on 30 January 2018.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Ged Killen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of (a) personal independence payments and (b) employment support allowance cases subject to a mandatory reconsideration decision were subsequently taken forward to tribunal in each of the last five years.

Sarah Newton: The number of Personal Independent Payment (PIP) Mandatory Reconsiderations (MRs) cleared can be found in the official published statistics: “Data tables: Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to October 2017”. The relevant data can be found in Tavle 7b. This data shows the number of mandatory reconsiderations for New Claims and Reassessments broken down by month since PIP was introduced:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-october-2017The number of mandatory reconsiderations (MRs) and appeals from Employment Support Allowance (ESA) Work Capability Assessments can be found in the official published statistics: “ESA: outcomes of Work Capability Assessments including mandatory reconsiderations and appeals: December 2017”. The relevant data can be found in Table 17.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-including-mandatory-reconsiderations-and-appeals-december-2017The number of appeals registered for both benefits can be found in the official published statistics: “Tribunals and gender recognition certificate statistics quarterly – July to September 2017”. The relevant data can be found in table SSCS.1 in the “Main Tables (July to September 2017)” document.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2017

Universal Credit: Wolverhampton North East

Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress has been made on the roll out of universal credit in Wolverhampton North East.

Alok Sharma: The Department rolled out Universal Credit for Wolverhampton Jobcentre Plus in December 2017. To ensure safe and secure delivery of Universal Credit to larger Jobcentre Plus offices, the Department rolls out to 50% of the postcodes at the announced go live date, with the remaining postcodes rolled out approximately three months later. In Wolverhampton’s case this will happen later this month.

Universal Credit

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January to Question 124104, on Universal Credit, and with reference to the note below paragraph B1026 of her Department's Advice for decision making: staff guide, whether the operational guidance on the splitting of universal credit payments between the couple contains further advice to decision makers.

Alok Sharma: The operational guidance does not give Decision Makers any additional guidance on split payments in Universal Credit that is not contained within the Decision Makers’ guidance.

Department for Work and Pensions: Capita

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what contingency plans she has made in the event of Capita being unable to fulfil any of its contractual obligations with her Department.

Kit Malthouse: The Department regularly reviews contingencies for all of its contracts including those relating to Capita.

Personal Independence Payment: Mental Health

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, of 30 January 2018, Official Report, column 703 on PIP back payments, whether there will be a new form setting out descriptors.

Sarah Newton: We will undertake all the necessary steps to implement the Upper Tribunal judgment in MH in full.

Social Security Benefits: Cancer

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting from application to a decision being made was for people with cancer who applied for (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payments in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Sarah Newton: (a)The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.(b)Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants assessed under normal rules waited an average of 12 weeks from the point of registration to a decision being made for new claims and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) reassessments respectively.For claimants assessed under Special Rules, the average was 6 and 5 working days for new claims and DLA reassessment claims respectively.This data includes cases on which a decision was made between 1st November 2016 and 31st October 2017, the latest full year for which data is available.Information on clearance times split by normal rules and special rules claims and new claim or DLA reassessment claims can be found in the data tables, “Personal Independence Payment: Official Statistics to October 2017” within tables 5A-B here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-october-2017.Source: PIP Computer System claimant records.Notes to (b):1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number of weeks.2. Data includes normal rules and special rules as recorded at the point of the DWP decision, in accordance with the measure. It is possible for claims to transition between normal/special rules and new claims/reassessments during the course of the claimant journey.3. The figures are the average (median) clearance time of claims cleared between 1st November 2016 and 31st October 2017.4. The median time is the middle value if you were to order all the times within the distribution from lowest value to highest value. The median is presented here instead of the mean because the mean can be unduly affected by outlying cases (e.g. cases were the person has been hard to reach due to being in prison, hospital, failed to attend the assessment on numerous occasions etc.)5. The 'Registration to DWP decision (end to end)' clearance time is measured as the average time between the date of registration of the claim and the date of the DWP decision to either award or disallow the claim. It does not include claims that were withdrawn by the claimant or claims that were disallowed by DWP pre-referral to the Assessment Providers (e.g. for failure to meet basic eligibility criteria or failure to return the Part 2 form within the time limit).6. A claimant may have multiple disabling conditions but only the primary condition is recorded on PIP systems.7. Cancer defined here is any condition falling under “Neoplasms (C00 - D48)” in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) summary codes, as recorded on the PIP Computer System.8. This is unpublished data and it should be used with caution and it may be subject to future revision.9. ICD summary codes are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. For reporting purposes, the disability conditions as recorded on the PIP IT system have been mapped to reflect as closely as possible the appropriate ICD10 code

Personal Independence Payment: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate her Department has made of the number of personal independence payment claimants in (a) Wales and (b) Newport East constituency whose claims will have to be reassessed as part of the Government's review of all personal independence payment claims.

Sarah Newton: I refer the Hon. Member to the statement made by myself, Official Report, 30 January 2018, Column 703.

Social Security Benefits: English Language

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants for (a) jobseekers’ allowance and (b) universal credit have been (i) referred for an assessment of their English language skills and (ii) mandated to undertake English learning in each of the last three years.

Alok Sharma: The number of referrals for assessment of a claimant’s English language skills is as follows: Jobseeker’s Allowance claimantsUniversal Credit Live Service claimants2014/1510,559282015/164,6592072016/172,773312The number of referrals for claimants to undertake English learning are as follows: Jobseeker’s Allowance claimantsUniversal Credit Live Service claimants2014/155,187132015/162,577732016/171,22295 We are unable to indicate how many of the referrals for English learning were the result of mandating. Such information is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.Source:Jobseeker’s Allowance - Department for Work and Pensions Labour Market System (LMS).Universal Credit Live Service - Department for Work and Pensions Work Services Platform (WSP).Notes:Information is not currently available to indicate the volume of referrals for English Language assessments or learning for Universal Credit Full Service claimantsThe Management Information (MI) contained within this document does not form part of any official statistics and is intended for Department for Work and Pensions internal use only and not published externally.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Drinking Water

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how much money his Department has spent on bottled water in each year since 2010.

George Eustice: Since 2014, the amount of money spent on purchasing water bottles by Defra’s catering provider has fallen by over a third. Defra as a Department does not purchase any plastic water bottles. Period Spend October 2014 - September 2015£7,070.14October 2015 - September 2016£4,029.71October 2016 - September 2017£4,481.72Total£15,581.57 The contractor does not hold this level of data for more than 3 years. The current catering contract expires this summer. The tender for the new contract stipulates that the supplier must not use plastic bottles and single use plastics. Re-usable glasses are now supplied.

Air Pollution: Monitoring

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2017 to Question 118838, and with reference to the report of the Air Quality Expert Group on fine particulate matter in the UK of December 2012, if he will take steps to monitor emissions of particulate matter that is less than 2.5 microns in diameter.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Our existing Particle Numbers and Concentrations Network measures characteristics of particles smaller than PM2.5 such as particle number and particle count and comprises a range of measurements across six different locations in the UK. Information on the network can be found on our website at: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/networks/network-info?view=particle This network is used to provide insight into emissions and formation of particles and is operated alongside our extensive PM2.5 mass measurements made at 77 locations in the UK, as referred to in my previous answer of 19 December [Question 118838].

Food and Drink Sector Council

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether membership of the food and drink sector council will include workforce representatives.

George Eustice: The Food and Drink Sector Council is made up of industry leaders who represent the entire food chain from farm to fork. They are experts who have a breadth of experience across the sector including farming, manufacturing, retail, hospitality and logistics. A list of Council members can be found on the Food and Drink Sector Council pages of the GOV.UK website. The Council is committed to boosting productivity, improving sustainability and creating well paid jobs within the sector. There will be opportunities for a wide range of industry views to be represented in the priority areas of work that the Council agreed at its first meeting held on 29 January.

Environment Protection

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to introduce legislation to implement  the targets set out in the Government's 25-Year Environment Plan.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The 25 Year Environment Plan is a strategic document with clear aims and ambitions to leave the environment in a better state for the next generation than we inherited. This is underpinned by a series of strategies that already have some specific targets in place, including statutory targets. Those strategies are also updated from time to time, and future updates will help ensure the plan remains relevant. We have committed to refreshing the 25 Year Environment Plan regularly to ensure that collectively we are focusing on the right priorities, using the latest evidence, and delivering better value for money.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how he plans for the Basic Payment Scheme to operate in 2020; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: This Government has pledged to continue to commit the same cash total in funds for farm support until the end of the parliament, expected in 2022. We will consult widely about how we should transition to our future agriculture policy and intend to publish a consultation document in the Spring.

Home Office

Drugs: Smuggling

Ross Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to cooperate with the United States and Canada on tackling transatlantic drug crime.

Mr Ben Wallace: The UK enjoys close and longstanding cooperation with the USA and Canada in tackling transatlantic drug crime. Joint work involves regular and timely exchange of operational intelligence, enabling the disruption of drug trafficking via air and sea routes across the Atlantic.

Refugees

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review her Department’s policy guidance on safe return reviews for refugees applying for settlement.

Caroline Nokes: There are no plans to review the safe return review policy.Those who need protection are normally granted 5 years’ limited leave after which they are able to apply for permanent settlement. This policy has been in place since 2005 when automatic settlement for refugees was abolished.All settlement applications are carefully considered on their individual merits and whilst we have always been clear that protection will be grated for as long as it is needed, we will assess whether there have been significant changes in country conditions or personal circumstances, which means that an individual no longer needs our protection.

Asylum: Housing

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the the procurement documents for the new Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts.

Caroline Nokes: All Home Office contracts are tendered in compliance with the EU Procurement Directives, which ensure that there is a transparent and equitable procurement processThe Asylum Accommodation and Support Services Contracts details and procurement timescales are available at:http://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:461664-2017:TEXT:EN:HTML

Migrant Workers

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124494, what assessment she has made of the effect of removing the named worker system on the effectiveness and efficiency of the immigration application system.

Caroline Nokes: In most instances, a single caseworker will consider an individual’s application and correspond with that applicant as appropriate in order to make a decision. However, on occasion an application may be considered by a different caseworker, for example due to absence. In addition, and to provide excellent customer service, the department has correspondence teams who can respond to case specific enquiries from applicants, and MP account manager teams who can provide a similar service for members. This aids in the effective operation and efficiency of the department.

Visas

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) Visas.

Caroline Nokes: The Tier 1 (Exceptional Talent) route demonstrates our commitment to continuing to attract top international talent in the digital technology, science and arts sectors. On 11 January we doubled the number of places available to applicants from 1000, to 2000, and are confident that this is sufficient to meet demand at this time. We will continue to monitor take up of the route.

Visas: Overseas Students

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's news story, Twenty three universities join student visa pilot, published on 18 December 2017, what criteria universities were required to fulfil in order to take part in that pilot.

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many representations the Department has received from universities wanting to take part in the expanded student visa pilot scheme.

Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans her Department has to further expand the student visa pilot scheme.

Caroline Nokes: The Tier 4 visa pilot, helps to streamline the visa process for international students looking to study on a Masters’ course, in the UK, of 13 months or less. The pilot also helps to support students who wish to switch into a work route and take up a graduate role, by extending the leave period following the end of their study to up to six months.23 additional institutions were selected to participate based on having the consistently lowest visa refusal rates for their region or country. The evaluation of the pilot is ongoing, with an interim report due to be published in the summer of 2018. The primary focus of the evaluation is to assess the impact of the Tier 4 visa pilot on UK education institutions’ competitiveness in terms of attracting international students and the ability of international students to switch into a work route. Engaging more sponsors to participate in the pilot will provide additional evidence for the evaluation to ensure it more accurately represents the diversity of the sector. Once evaluated, we will consider whether to introduce the offer being tested with the pilot into the Immigration Rules and make it policy.We regularly engage with the education sector on student migration policy, including the Tier 4 visa pilot. We hold a quarterly Education Sector Forum with key representatives from the sector including the devolved administrations.

Visas

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many visa applications were rejected because the applicant was late with their tax return in each of the last three years for which data is available.

Caroline Nokes: The specific information that has been requested is not included in statistics published by the Home Office.Information on the number of applications and decisions (i.e. grants, refusals, withdrawn and lapsed cases) is published quarterly in the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics, Visas volume 1, table vi_01_q, latest edition at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017

Tech City UK: Skilled Workers

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2018, on Tech City UK: Skilled Workers, where (a) Tier 1 and (b) Tech City are referenced in the transparency data.

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pusuant to the Answer of 25 January 2018 to Question 124932, if she will provide a regional breakdown of the locations where people with Tier 1 visas endorsed by Tech City are working.

Caroline Nokes: Transparency data for Tier 1 is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/migration-transparency-data#uk-visas-and-immigrationTier 1 is referenced in the document ‘In-country Migration data: November 2017’.Endorsements made by Tech City form part of the total Tier 1 data and they are therefore not referenced directly within the transparency data. Tier 1 data is reference on the following tabs; Notes, Inc_01a, Inc_02, Inc_3, and Inc_7.

Deportation: Jamaica

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State will she place in the Library a copy of  the Memorandum of Understanding between the British Government and Jamaican Government, signed in 2007, on deportations and forced removals from the UK to Jamaica.

Caroline Nokes: We do not have a Memorandum of Understanding with the Jamaican government regarding enforced deportations and enforced returns.However, the Ministry of Justice reports that in 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in relation to the operation of a proposed prisoner transfer agreement between the United Kingdom and Jamaica. As the prisoner transfer agreement was not ratified the Memorandum of Understanding was not brought into force.

Refugees: Kurds

Christine Jardine: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to integrate Kurdish refugees into UK society.

Caroline Nokes: Kurdish refugees are able to access the same support to integrate into UK society as all refugees. Refugees are currently given the same access to the labour market and benefits as UK citizens, as well as access to English language training. Refugees are also eligible to receive a dedicated integration loan designed to help refugees integrate into UK society by offering financial support towards housing costs, employment and training.

Slavery

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, pursuant the oral contribution of 17 January 2008,  what plans she has to coordinate with other countries to eliminate modern slavery.

Victoria Atkins: The UK Government is committed to driving action to eradicate modern slavery internationally, as well as in the UK. The Government is developing strong partnerships with countries that have many victims trafficked into the UK, as well as working with countries that have a high prevalence of slavery to support their efforts to tackle it. The Government is also advocating for better multilateral engagement and international coordination to drive action on modern slavery globally. In September 2017 the Prime Minister launched a Call to Action at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to encourage countries to drive action to tackle modern slavery - 41 countries have now endorsed the Call to Action. The Prime Minister also announced at UNGA that the UK would double its aid budget for tackling modern slavery to £150m. This includes the £33.5m Modern Slavery Fund managed by the Home Office for targeted projects in countries from which the UK receives high numbers of victims. More information on the Government’s international work can be found at chapter 2 of the 2017 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery.

Slavery: Prosecutions

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, pursuant to oral contribution of 17 January 2018, what the evidential basis is for the increase in the number of cases being brought to prosecution under modern sex slavery.

Victoria Atkins: Details of the increase in the total number of slavery and trafficking cases brought to prosecution is provided in the 2017 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery  available n gov.uk via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652366/2017_uk_annual_report_on_modern_slavery.pdfTable 22 of the report provides CPS data which shows the total number of individuals prosecuted who were ‘flagged’ as being involved in modern slavery offending, regardless of whether their eventual prosecution or conviction was for a slavery or trafficking offence, or another offence.These data include defendants involved in modern slavery offending who may have been prosecuted for other offences, so the figures provide the widest picture of the involvement of modern slavery offenders in the criminal justice system.

Slavery

Alex Norris: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, pursuant to the oral contribution of 17 January 2018, what the evidential basis is for the statement that more victims are willing and able to come forward, and have the confidence to do so.

Victoria Atkins: The evidential basis is provided the 2017 UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery, available on gov.uk via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652366/2017_uk_annual_report_on_modern_slavery.pdfThe number of referrals to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) – the UK’s modern slavery victim identification and support service – has increased every year since the NRM was introduced in 2009. 3,804 potential victims were referred into the NRM process in 2016. This figure represents a 16% increase over the number of referrals in 2015.

Visas

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department,  if she will assess the number of financial administrative mistakes with regards to visa application renewals that have been made by her Department in each of the last seven years.

Caroline Nokes: UK Visas and Immigration continually reviews its operation to improve performance and accountability. Customer feedback, including complaints, are taken into account to ensure we offer value for money; which includes improving the services we offer, the quality of the decisions we make and the provision of an excellent customer service. When we are informed of errors we work promptly to rectify them.More widely, we have assurance regimes which aim to increase consistent quality and identify good and weak practice within the department. We utilise three regimes; operational oversight, independent business reviews and third party reviews, in conjunction with the wider Home Office, in order to develop and ensure best practice.

Grenfell Tower: Fires

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of applications under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy which were rejected on grounds that the applicant failed security checks.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases granted a six month visa under the Grenfell Tower Relatives policy have been refused a further extension upon application.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases received no response to their application for a visa under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases granted an initial six-month visa under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy have applied for an extension.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy were rejected on grounds that the applicants presence was not deemed to be conducive to the public good.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how cases that were granted an initial six-month visa under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy have successfully applied for an extension.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases have been rejected on the basis of false claims in regards to applications submitted under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases have been granted under the Grenfell Tower relatives policy.

Emma Dent Coad: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases have been refused under the Grenfell Tower Relatives policy.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office acted swiftly to grant visas to relatives of those directly affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. In all cases where the Immigration Rules were not met, consideration was given to leave outside of the Immigration Rules on exceptional grounds.The Grenfell Relatives’ Policy announced on 11 October 2017 allowed relatives granted a short period of leave outside of the rules, to extend their stay up to six months from their date of entry to the UK. Existing policies are in place to allow any relative to apply for further leave to remain in the UK.We have plans to publish statistics about applications made by survivors and relatives of victims and survivors in due course, once the data have been properly assured.

John Worboys

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, at which police rank would responsibility reside for decisions to mark as cleared up victims' complaints in respect of John Worboys.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether information on complaints made from alleged victims of John Worboys were retained after his conviction.

Mr Nick Hurd: The investigation of offences is an operational matter for the police· The Home Office has set no rank requirement for such decisions, which would be a matter for chief officers on a case by case basisWe do not centrally hold any information relating to complaints from alleged victims of Worboys. In 2010, the Independent Police Complaints Committee published a report on police handling of the case, which can be found at http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100406135201/http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/worboys_commissioners_report.pdf The report made a number of recommendations for how the Metropolitan Police should improve its response to victims of sexual offences.

Immigrants: Employment

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124304, on Immigrants: Employment, whether her Department has considered allowing people to use alternative forms of ID to prove their employment status while their immigration documents are processed.

Caroline Nokes: There are no plans to expand the list of documents an individual can use to demonstrate a right to work. Acceptable right to work documents are set out in legislation. Employers seeking to verify an individual’s right to work where there is an outstanding immigration application, administrative review or appeal can use the Home Office’s Employer Checking Service. This is designed to ensure that where individuals have a right to work, employment can commence with minimal delay.

Slavery: Females

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 17 January 2018, Official Report, column 882, what specific plans the Government has to work with those countries from which a majority of women are being trafficked to eliminate modern slavery.

Victoria Atkins: The UK Government is committed to driving action to eradicate modern slavery internationally, as outlined in the response to PQ 125743With regards to our specific plans relating to women, the Government has made a commitment to double aid spending to £150m to tackle modern slavery. The allocation of this funding will ensure the needs of women and girls are taken into account. For example, the Department for International Development’s £10.5 million Work in Freedom programme aims to help women facing slavery and exploitation across South East Asia. The programme provides training to women in their communities and works with businesses and recruiters to tackle trafficking. To date over 380,000 women have benefited. The Secretary of State for International Development recently announced new funding of £13 million for the second phase of the programmeThe Home Office Modern Slavery Fund and Innovation Fund are supporting projects in countries from where the UK receives high numbers of victims and new innovative approaches to tackling slavery. All of these projects take a gender sensitive approach: for example in Nigeria we are finalising a support package for victims, many of whom are women and girls.

Key Forensic Services

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with the Metropolitan Police on the collapse of Key Forensic Services.

Mr Nick Hurd: I have kept in close contact with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and my officials have also engaged with the Metropolitan Police Service and kept me informed.

Human Trafficking: Vietnam

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Vietnamese children have been found in (a) cannabis farms, (b) nail bars, (c) brothels and (d) other situations that suggest they were the victims of human trafficking in each of the last five years.

Victoria Atkins: The National Crime Agency publishes statistics on referrals into the National Referral Mechanism on a quarterly basis. These statistics includes the breakdown of referrals for children by nationality and primary exploitation type. Criminal exploitation is recorded as a sub category of Labour exploitation within the statistics and would include children found in cannabis farms and nail bars.The latest published statistics can be found at: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statistics

Slavery: Vietnam

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Vietnamese children have been referred under the National Referral Mechanism since the implementation of the Modern Slavery Act 2015; what proportion of all children so referred those children represented; what proportion of those children are currently in local authority care; how many of those children so referred were granted the right to remain in the UK whilst under 18 years old; and how many of those children granted the right to remain in the UK have subsequently been deported having reached the age of 18.

Victoria Atkins: The Government does not hold all of the information requested in a reportable format. The Government does not collect information on the number of children referred into the National Referral Mechanism who are in local authority care. The Home Office publish data on the number of asylum claims from unaccompanied children, including nationality breakdown and initial decisions. The Home Office also publishes data on returns by nationality. However, individuals referred under the NRM cannot be identified within the data.The latest published statistics can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017-data-tables

Police: Firearms

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have undertaken fire arms training in every year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the number of police officers that have undertaken firearms training. The Home Office does publish the number of officers in England and Wales that have passed firearms training and are authorised to use firearms – “armed officers”. The latest release of “Police use of firearms statistics, England and Wales”, which includes the number of armed officers for the financial years ending March 2009 to March 2017, can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-use-of-firearms-statistics-england-and-wales-april-2016-to-march-2017The latest figures on armed officers, for the financial year ending March 2018, are due for publication in summer 2018.

Police: Dogs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police dogs are owned by (a) North Yorkshire Police and (b) other police forces.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold any information centrally on the number of police dogs owned by police forces.

Firearms: Licensing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to ensure that her Department's guidance is followed correctly by the medical profession when people apply for a firearms licence.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward proposals to introduce a standard fee to be charged by all GPs for issuing a firearms licence.

Mr Nick Hurd: In accordance with voluntary arrangements introduced in 2016, the police write to the GP of those applying for a firearms licence to request relevant information regarding the applicant’s health before the firearms licence is issued. We know that there are significant variations in how GPs now respond to this request and we have been discussing with the police, the relevant medical bodies and representatives of shooting organisations how greater consistency can be achieved in England and Wales. This includes the issue of fees being charged by GPs for providing initial information from a check of the applicant’s medical records, recognising that the decision whether to charge a fee and its level are matters which individual GPs have been determining.

Passports: Concessions

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of granting passports with a five year duration to people aged over 75 at a reduced cost.

Caroline Nokes: HM Passport Office issues 10 year passports to adults and 5 year passports to children under 16, and there are currently no plans to review this.Passports are issued with a shorter validity for children for security reasons, due to the rapid change of appearance as the child grows; this is charged at a lower price due to the costs being spread across all passport fees. Making passports available with a shorter validity to additional age groups would require subsidy by other customers and impact the passport fee.A special concession is offered for applicants born before 2 September 1929, who can apply for a passport free of charge. This was introduced for the Second World War generation in recognition of their contribution to the national effort during the war years.

Refugees

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department takes steps to provide support to refugees who receive leave to remain in the time between their receiving their (a) National Insurance number and (b) first universal credit payment; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover their other essential living needs.If they are granted refugee status this support stops 28 days after they are given notice of the decision and provided with a Biometric Residence Permit, which is the evidence they need to prove that they are able to take employment or apply for mainstream benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). The permit now contains their national insurance number.They are also contacted to see if they wish to apply for benefits and an appointment at a local DWP office is arranged for them if they say they do and require assistance.This process is designed to ensure that refugees receive the first payment of any benefit they are entitled to before the 28 days period expires, either by full payment of the benefit or an advance payment of Universal Credit where this is needed.

Parking Offences: Pedestrian Areas

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many parking tickets were issued by the (a) Police and (b) PCSOs in (i) Dacorum, (ii) Hertfordshire and (iii) England and Wales for obstruction of pavements in each year since 2005.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how much revenue was accrued to the public purse as a result of parking tickets issued by (a) the police and (b) PCSOs in (i) Dacorum, (ii) Hertfordshire and (iii) England and Wales for obstruction of pavements in each year since 2005.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office publishes data annually on the number of motoring offences dealt with via a fixed penalty notice (FPN) in the ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales’ statistical publication.The number of FPNs issued for ‘Obstruction, waiting and parking offences’ can be found in table ‘FPN_02’ of the ‘Fixed penalty notices for motoring offences’ tables. This table shows data on a calendar year basis, with the collection beginning in 2001The latest data, up to the calendar year 2016, can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-powers-and-procedures-england-and-wales-year-ending-31-march-2017The Home Office does not hold information on who issued the FPN, or the monetary value of these penalties.

Asylum

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to ensure the (a) adequacy and (b) consistency of guidance provided in non-straightforward asylum cases.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6.3 of The Home Office response to the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration’s report: An Inspection of the Home Office’s Asylum Intake & Casework April – August 2017, whether her department has identified new customer service standards for non-straightforward asylum cases; and if she will make a statement.

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has on meeting the target to clear 10,000 asylum decision cases by March 2018.

Caroline Nokes: The decision to designate a case as ‘non straight forward’ must be discussed and agreed by an officer at least the grade of a Senior Executive Officer to ensure it is applied appropriately. In addition the guidance on these cases has recently been reviewed and redistributed across asylum teams to ensure it is applied consistently and that it does not discriminate against any individual groups.Asylum Intake and Casework Senior Management have been in consultation with staff and partners on the new service standards and it is intended that these will be introduced later this yearInformation regarding Asylum data is published as part of the Government’s Transparency agenda the latest release of which can be found at can be found at tab as 01q https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2017/list-of-tables#asylum. This shows that in from April to September there were 9,883 asylum decisions made.

Police Pursuits

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the timetable is for the review into police pursuit policy; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: The review into police pursuits will be completed this year.

Drugs: Smuggling

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an estimate of the annual profit made organised crime from the illegal drugs market in the UK.

Mr Ben Wallace: The 2013 Home Office report, the Cost of Drugs, estimates that Organised Crime Groups generated £3.7bn in revenue from the illegal drugs market in the UK.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246390/horr73.pdfHowever, it is not possible to provide accurate figures on the profit made from the UK illegal drugs market. This is due to an absence of official statistics held in relation to its actual value and the differing "operating costs" of criminal networks. In addition, variable factors such as exchange rates and drug purities, influenced by a range of supply and demand factors, regularly affect retail and wholesale costs.

Randox Testing Services

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of the Minister of State for Policing and the Fire Service of 21 November 2017 on toxicology, HCWS265, whether Key Forensics Services were providing re-testing support as a result of the possibility of manipulation of drug tests performed by Randox Testing Services.

Mr Nick Hurd: Yes. The National Police Chiefs’ Council is overseeing the re-testing of samples potentially impacted by the alleged manipulation at Randox Testing Services and I welcome their swift action in establishing a Silver Group to lead on the redistribution of new casework including re-testing of toxicology cases

Forensic Science

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which forensics providers provide testing services to police forces in criminal cases.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2nd February 2018 in response to UIN 124992.

Welfare in Detention of Vulnerable Persons Review

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January to Question 124249, if she will make it her policy to publish an assessment of the potential merits of the recommendations contained Stephen Shaw's review of the implementation of the recommendations on the welfare in detention of vulnerable persons, before publication of updated guidance on the Adults at Risk policy; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: As was stated in the answer referred to by the hon. Member, the Government is currently considering the judgment made by the High Court on 10 October 2017 in respect of the statutory guidance relating to the policy on adults at risk in immigration detention. Home Office officials will shortly be meeting a range of bodies with an interest in immigration detention as part of the process of revising the guidance. The Home Office will also carefully consider any further recommendations or findings made by Stephen Shaw.

Slavery

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the support for victims of modery slavery provided by  local authorities in London.

Victoria Atkins: All local agencies, including local authorities, have statutory duties to safeguard children as part of their local responsibilities, regardless of their backgrounds or experiences. The revised ‘Care of unaccompanied migrant children and child victims of modern slavery’ statutory guidance for local authorities (2017) sets out the steps that local authorities should take to plan for the provision of support where the child is an unaccompanied asylum seeking child and/or may have been a victim of trafficking or modern slavery.Support for adult victims of modern slavery is provided by a central Government-funded contract, delivery by the Salvation Army. Victims receive tailored specialist support, including: accommodation, subsistence, counselling, access to mental, physical and dental health services, and signposting to legal support.As part of reform to the National Referral Mechanism, we are working with local authorities to test pathways for transitioning confirmed victims of modern slavery out of central Government-funded support into local communities, and will evaluate the effectiveness of these pathways.

Slavery

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what plans she has to improve the National Referral Mechanism for victims of modern slavery.

Victoria Atkins: On the 26th October 2017, this Government announced a package of reforms to the National Referral Mechanism, the system for identifying and support victims of modern slavery. Details can be found - https://www.gov.uk/government/news/modern-slavery-victims-to-receive-longer-period-of-support

Slavery

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people referred through the National Referral Mechanism for victims of modern slavery have made claims for asylum in the UK.

Caroline Nokes: Data on the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) are published regularly by the National Crime Agency and in the UK Annual Report on Modern Slavery. These reports are available via the following links:http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-statisticshttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2017-uk-annual-report-on-modern-slavery

Mental Health Services: Stun Guns

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Home Department, how many times tasers have been used in a mental health setting in each year since 2010.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold this data.However, in recognition of the importance of ensuring transparency in how police officers use force, particularly against vulnerable people, the Government asked the police to lead the Use of Force Data Review. The Review recommended that police forces record and publish a range of data each time force is used, including the reason force was used, injury data, the gender, ethnicity and age of the subject involved, and the location and outcome of the incident. This includes the use of TASER® and use of force in mental health settings.These recommendations were welcomed by the former Home Secretary and the former Minister for Policing and the Fire Service. A Written Ministerial Statement on 2 March 2017 announced the implementation of the recommendations, with police forces commencing recording in April last year. Police forces are now publishing their data locally, and a subset of the data will be provided to the Home Office as part of the Annual Data Requirement 2017/18 – and annually thereafter. The Home Office will publish the first annual report on this data in summer 2018.

Hezbollah

Nigel Huddleston: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment the Government has made of whether Hezbollah is a unified organisation under a single leadership.

Mr Ben Wallace: The UK proscription regime distinguishes between the political and military wings of Hizballah. The UK proscribed Hizballah’s External Security Organisation in March 2001 and in 2008 the proscription was extended to Hizballah’s military apparatus.

British Nationality

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have had their British citizenship removed under (a) section 40, Subsection 4A of the British Nationality Act 1981 since 4 November 2015 and (b) section 40, subsection (i) 2 and (ii) 3 of the British Nationality Act 1981 in the past two years.

Caroline Nokes: The Government publishes statistics relating to deprivation of citizenship under section 40 subsection (4A) of the British Nationality Act 1981 and section 40 subsection (2) on an annual basis. The figure for January 2015 to December 2015 can be found in the HM Government Transparency Report: Disruptive and Investigatory Powers, published in February 2017:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdf

Wales Office

Nuclear Power Stations: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, whether responsibility for granting development consent for nuclear energy projects generating up to and including 350 megawatts is devolved to the National Assembly for Wales.

Alun Cairns: Through the Wales Act 2017, development consents for nuclear energy projects up to and including 350 megawatts will be devolved to the Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales from 1 April 2019. However, other aspects of the development of nuclear energy projects, such as site licencing from the Office of Nuclear Regulation, are reserved.

HM Treasury

South Sudan: Arms Trade

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2017 to Question 109574, on South Sudan: arms trade, what progress has been made on the assessment of the alleged supply of arms by a British company to the Government of South Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Mel Stride: HMRC does not comment on individual cases. In any case where a breach of export control legislation may have taken place, all relevant information is considered carefully so that the appropriate action can be taken.

Offshore Industry: Taxation

Ross Thomson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential economic benefits arising from the proposals on transferable tax history in the oil and gas sector set out in Autumn Budget 2017.

Robert Jenrick: At the Autumn Budget, the government announced it would introduce a Transferable Tax History for oil & gas companies. This will give investors in UK oil and gas fields certainty that they will be able to get tax relief for decommissioning assets. This should encourage new investment in older oil and gas fields, keeping them producing for longer and supporting employment. The main industry body, Oil and Gas UK, in response to the Budget announcement have said that a Transferable Tax History would be ‘a vital step that can bring in new investment to increase recovery from existing fields and fund fresh investment which is key to generating activity for our hard-pressed supply chain. It will also help extend the lives of many mature fields and postpone decommissioning.’ This builds on the £2.3bn of fiscal support the government has already provided to the UK oil and gas industry, including a package of tax cuts across Budget 2015 and 2016, £40m of funding for seismic surveys to support exploration, and the introduction of a new Investment Allowance. As a result, the UK now has one of the most competitive tax regimes in the world for oil and gas, further supporting investment and jobs.

Banks: Urban Areas

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many towns are without a bank branch in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Wales and (d) Scotland.

Caroline Flint: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many consultations have been undertaken on proposed branch closures since the announcement of the Access to Banking Protocol; and how many of those consultations resulted in the branch remaining open.

Caroline Flint: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of people who live more than (a) five miles and (b) 10 miles from a bank branch.

John Glen: The Treasury does not hold data on bank branch closures. The decision to close a branch remains a commercial judgement for banks. However, the impact on communities must be understood, considered and mitigated where possible. The Access to Banking Protocol was a 2015 industry-wide agreement on bank branch closures, designed to help minimise their impact on customers and communities. In November 2016, Professor Russel Griggs published an independent ‘one year on’ review of the Protocol, following which the new Access to Banking Standard came into effect in May 2017. The Standard commits banks to ensure personal and business customers are better informed about branch closures and the reasons for them closing, along with the options they have locally to continue to access banking services, including specialist assistance for customers who need more help. The Access to Banking Standard is monitored and enforced by the independent Lending Standards Board. 99% of banks’ personal and 95% of banks’ business customers are able to withdraw cash, deposit cash and cheques, and make balance enquiries at a Post Office counter via its network of 11,600 branches. At Autumn Budget 2017, my predecessor wrote to the Post Office and UK Finance to ask them to raise public awareness of the banking services available at the Post Office for individuals and SMEs. The Government is committed to ensuring that communities across the UK are fully aware of the important services that remain available to them at their local Post Office, even if their bank branch is closed.

Welfare Tax Credits

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 35 of the HMRC Annual Report and Accounts 2016-17, what the cut-off date is after which no new tax credits claims will be taken.

Elizabeth Truss: For the majority of customers, the current cut-off date for HMRC accepting new tax credit claims is 31st December 2018. Specifically for those customers with 2+ children or of Pension Credit Qualifying Age, the cut-off date is extended to 31st January 2019. These dates may be subject to change in order to align with DWP’s Universal Credit migration schedule.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which companies are contracted to deliver the Childcare Choices website; and whether those companies have been subject to financial sanctions for the website's faults.

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish all recent correspondence between his Department and the contractor responsible for the Childcare Choices website.

Elizabeth Truss: This Childcare Choices website brings together all the government schemes which offer support towards childcare costs. Binary Vision is the external contractor that hosts the site. This website has not experienced any significant technical faults. It is not the Government’s practice to release correspondence between departments and their contactors since it may be commercially sensitive.

Self-assessment: Fines

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many self-assessment penalty fines were revoked in (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16, (c) 2016-17 and (d) 2017-18.

Mel Stride: The information requested is not available. HMRC does not keep a central count of penalties discharged in each year.

Virgin Trains East Coast

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the early termination of the East Coast rail franchise with Stagecoach.

Elizabeth Truss: As confirmed in the Secretary of State for Transport’s Oral Statement on Monday 5th February, his Department is conducting a full appraisal of the options available to the Government to ensure continuity of service. This includes the service being operated by the Department for Transport through an operator of last resort and Stagecoach continuing to operate the service. In either scenario, the East Coast Mainline is expected to deliver substantial revenue to the taxpayer.

Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves

Peter Dowd: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of the UK's foreign exchange reserves was in (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d) 2016 and (e) 2017.

John Glen: The UK’s official reserves consist of foreign exchange reserves, gold and IMF special drawing rights. The value of these at the end of (a) 2013, (b) 2014, (c) 2015, (d), 2016, and (e) 2017 were as follows: - End of YearUK Official ReservesOf which, UK Foreign Exchange Reserves(a) 2013$108.8bn$66.2bn(b) 2014$109.1bn$72.1bn(c) 2015$130.5bn$95.3bn(d) 2016$136.6bn$100.6bn(e) 2017$158.6bn$114.4bn

Profits: Taxation

Jo Stevens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps the Government has taken to ensure that companies pay appropriate tax on profit generated in the UK.

Mel Stride: The Government is committed to ensuring companies pay their fair share. The UK has been at the forefront of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and implemented many of its recommendations into domestic legislation. This includes, in the recent Finance (No. 2) Act 2017, introducing rules that prevent large multinational companies avoiding tax by claiming excessive tax deductions for interest expense.

Taxation: EU Action

Jo Stevens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government supports the European Commission's proposed Directive on country-by-country reporting of profits and tax.

Mel Stride: The Government has set out its objective for a model of public country-by-country reporting agreed on a multilateral basis. The UK will continue to engage constructively with the European Commission’s proposal as a step towards this.

Tax Evasion: EU Action

Jo Stevens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to co-operate with EU agencies to prevent tax evasion after the UK leaves the EU.

Mel Stride: The UK has led international efforts to tackle tax evasion and avoidance, including through the development of the Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information, and the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project. Leaving the European Union will not reduce our resolve to tackle these issues.

Children: Day Care

Tulip Siddiq: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people have (a) applied and (b) had their applications rejected for the tax free childcare scheme in Hampstead and Kilburn constituency since that schemes introduction.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on the number of people who have applied for Tax-Free Childcare by constituency is not available at the current time.

Treasury: Child Care Vouchers

Stephanie Peacock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employees in his Department make use of the childcare voucher scheme.

Robert Jenrick: 112 employees of HM Treasury make use of the childcare voucher scheme. The childcare voucher scheme is a salary sacrifice scheme which means that an employee agrees to a reduction in their taxable salary, and receives the equivalent amount in childcare vouchers instead.

Northern Ireland Office

Tourism: Northern Ireland

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate her Department has made of the value of tourism between Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Mr Alister Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps her Department is taking to increase tourism between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Tourism is a devolved policy area, meaning that the Northern Ireland Executive has responsibility for the promotion and delivery of the tourism offered within Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas, including with Great Britain. The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the value of tourism between Northern Ireland and Scotland. As shown, though, by its place at the top of the recent Lonely Planet list of regions to visit, Northern Ireland is a 'must-see' tourist destination, and Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office will continue to encourage visitors to come to experience the many wonderful sights and attractions it has to offer.

Trade: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions she has had with Invest NI about trade and investment in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Secretary of State and I met with Invest NI last month to discuss trade and investment in Northern Ireland. We recognise the great potential of Northern Ireland and Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office will continue to use every possible opportunity alongside colleagues from across Government to work closely with Invest NI to promote Northern Ireland as a great place to invest and do business.

Northern Ireland Government

Emma Little Pengelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what plans the Government has in place to ensure that any new Assembly and Executive in Northern Ireland is sustainable.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Secretary of State commenced a short, intensive set of political talks on the 24 January and will be providing Parliament with an update shortly. The Government’s priority is to re-establish a sustainable, fully functioning, inclusive devolved administration that works for everyone in Northern Ireland.

Department for International Trade

Higher Education: Exports

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support UK higher education exports.

Graham Stuart: The Department for International Trade supports the international aspirations of the Higher Education sector through its Education team in a range of ways, including Government to Government engagement and support to Trade Missions. The team has recently helped, amongst others, the University of Birmingham in its plan to open a campus in Dubai. The UK Higher Education sector will also be a focus in the GREAT Festival of Innovation, to be held in Hong Kong in March.The recently formed DIT Education Sector Advisory Group brings together relevant sector partners, including Universities UK and Independent Higher Education, to co-ordinate efforts to boost education exports.

Department of Trade: Public Appointments

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and (b) Invest NI on the role of the Advisers to the Board of Trade.

Greg Hands: Advisers to the Board of Trade are selected through Civil Service processes, with the Board being convened by the President.The role of Advisers to the Board of Trade, drawn from across the UK, was publically announced by the Department for International Trade on 12 October 2017.Advisers, as prominent figures from business and politics, provide local expertise to guide the Board on trade and investment matters.The role of the Board of Trade was widely discussed before it was reconvened, and will help to promote a culture of exporting across the whole of the UK.

Department of Trade: Meetings

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how many meetings of the Board of Trade have been held since June 2017; and how many of those meetings were attended by the Secretary of State for (a) Northern Ireland (b) Scotland (c) Wales.

Greg Hands: The Board of Trade met for the first time on 12 October 2017. This meeting was attended by my Rt. Hon Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Secretary of State for Wales, and my Hon Friend the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.The next quarterly meeting of the Board will be in February.

Trade Bill 2017-19

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Trade Policy during proceedings in Committee on the Trade Bill of 1 February 2018, on New Clause 10, whether implementation of the functions in clauses 7 and 8 of that Bill is voluntary for HMRC officials.

Greg Hands: Under clause 7, Treasury reserve the power to specify the type of information to be collected and how it will be requested. Once in force, clause 7 creates a function for HMRC to seek to collect data. Therefore, HMRC officials will be required to seek to collect the data. Businesses, on the other hand, will only have to provide the data on a voluntary basis.The provision of the information under clause 8 will not be voluntary provided it meets criteria within the clause and is not subject to breaching any restrictions under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005, the Data Protection Acts and the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.

Trade Bill 2017-19

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister of State for Trade Policy during proceedings in Committee on the Trade Bill of 30 January, at column 183, to which remarks of the hon. Member for Sefton Central he was referring on the agreement on government procurement.

Greg Hands: The hon. Member for Sefton Central raised, at column 180, the subject of positive and negative lists that set out market access for services in the General Agreement on Trade Services (GATS) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The remarks made acted to clarify that the EU’s service commitments in the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), which determine access to public procurements of public services, is provided as a positive list.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Universal Service Obligation

Sir Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the 10Mbps minimum speed for broadband under the universal service obligation will be the minimum speed consumers receive in their homes at peak times; and if he will make a statement.

Margot James: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 February 2018.The correct answer should have been:

The Department is currently undertaking evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme’s role in improving broadband connectivity and reaching areas that would otherwise not have been reached through commercial plans. The evaluation is focusing on the economic and social impacts of the programme, including the impact of the superfast programme on business performance and growth, employment, on quality of life and the reduction in benefits claimants in areas that would have lost out to higher connectivity areas, if it were not for the programme. The Department released The UK Broadband Impact Study in 2013 which made an assessment of the impacts of faster broadband including the economic impacts. The study can be accessed on the Department's website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-broadband-impact-study--2). The Department will be producing results from the current evaluation in 2018.There is a difference between what we define as the download speed, or sync speed, and the actual speed end users experience. The sync speed is the maximum speed that is achievable on the connection between the network and the premises. In reality, the actual speed that is provided to an end user is typically lower than the sync speed and this will vary depending on the number of other people using the network at that point in time. The specification that we consulted on was for a sync speed of at least 10Mbps. Ofcom says that a 10Mbps sync speed meets the needs of a typical household.

Margot James: The Department is currently undertaking evaluation of the Superfast Broadband Programme’s role in improving broadband connectivity and reaching areas that would otherwise not have been reached through commercial plans. The evaluation is focusing on the economic and social impacts of the programme, including the impact of the superfast programme on business performance and growth, employment, on quality of life and the reduction in benefits claimants in areas that would have lost out to higher connectivity areas, if it were not for the programme. The Department released The UK Broadband Impact Study in 2013 which made an assessment of the impacts of faster broadband including the economic impacts. The study can be accessed on the Department's website (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-broadband-impact-study--2). The Department will be producing results from the current evaluation in 2018.There is a difference between what we define as the download speed, or sync speed, and the actual speed end users experience. The sync speed is the maximum speed that is achievable on the connection between the network and the premises. In reality, the actual speed that is provided to an end user is typically lower than the sync speed and this will vary depending on the number of other people using the network at that point in time. The specification that we consulted on was for a sync speed of at least 10Mbps. Ofcom says that a 10Mbps sync speed meets the needs of a typical household.

Exercise: Children

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Active Movement programme on activity levels amongst children.

Tracey Crouch: The cross-Government sport strategy, Sporting Future, set out how important it is for all children to be healthy and active. The Active Movement programme aims to combat sedentary behaviour, and we would be happy to meet them to discuss effective ways to encourage children and young people to enjoy active lifestyles.

Culture: Education

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent meetings he has had with educational organisations to discuss arts, music and culture in schools.

Michael Ellis: Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website.

European City of Culture

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent representations he has made to the European Commission on its decision to exclude UK cities from bidding for the European City of Culture 2023.

Michael Ellis: The matter was raised ​urgently ​with the European Commission ​after we were informed of their decision to discontinue UK cities' participation in the European Capital of Culture programme, and discussions are ongoing.

Football: Gender

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has had discussions with the (a) Premier and (b) Football Leagues on improving the gender balance among its Chief Executives; and if he will make a statement.

Tracey Crouch: No such discussions have taken place. The Premier League and English Football League are private companies, wholly owned by their member clubs. It is entirely up to the boards of those organisations whom they appoint to the role of Chief Executive. Sports organisations are aware of the importance of good governance and more diversity into leadership positions can only be good for the sport.

Lotteries: Regulation

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether his Department plans to reform the regulations on society lotteries.

Tracey Crouch: We are carefully considering the issues around society lotteries raised by the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee and continue to take advice from the Gambling Commission as we consider policy options.

Broadcasting: Licensing

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2018 to Question 124468, what progress the Government is making on ensuring that existing broadcasting licence arrangements with the EU continue during the implementation period.

Margot James: It is in the interests of both the UK and the European Union to agree the precise terms of the implementation period as quickly as possible, in order to provide vital certainty to businesses, including those in the broadcasting sector. As the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union has recently stated, we are confident that there is a broad agreement between the UK and the EU positions on the implementation period, and that we will come to an agreement by March. We expect that this should be based on the existing structure of EU rules and regulations, during which the UK and the EU would continue to have access to one another’s markets on current terms. This would indeed cover the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD) which governs the pan-EU broadcasting legislation and allows the UK-based broadcasting licensees to broadcast into the EU.

Nuisance Calls

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many complaints relating to (a) automated and (b) live telesales calls have been received by the Information Commissioner's Office since 2016; how many fines were issued by that Office against offending companies in that same period; and how many of those fines were for the maximum possible amount.

Margot James: The Information Commissioner's Office is responsible for investigating concerns raised about and taking enforcement action against automated and live telesales calls. The Information Commissioner's Office publish these statistics in their annual report at https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/our-information/annual-operational-reports-201617/unlawful-marketing-reports-and-concerns/ and on their website at https://ico.org.uk/action-weve-taken/nuisance-calls-and-messages/.

Prime Minister

Royal Bank of Scotland

Ian Blackford: To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions she had with RBS on bank branch closures between 1 November 2017 and 31 January 2018.

Mrs Theresa May: Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly and made available on the gov.uk website.

House of Commons Commission

House of Commons Commission: Contracts

Dr David Drew: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, if he will set out all contracts to undertake work for the House of Commons worth more than £500,000, stating which of those contracts are PFI projects.

Tom Brake: The House Service currently has 14 works contracts worth more than £500,000. None of the contracts let by the House Service are PFI projects. PFIs are not suitable to fund the sort of capital investments the House engages in. Accordingly the House has no formal policy on PFIs.Contract ReferenceTitleCOM1115New Palace Yard Underground Car Park RefurbishmentFWK1085-LSC2222External Courtyard Conservation Phase OneLSC2101Cast Iron Roofs Repair and Refurbishment Phase 2 – Palace of WestminsterLSC2149Medium Term Mechanical & Electrical Project 3C New Substation Fit OutLSC2157Fire Safety Improvement Works Palace of Westminster Basement ProjectLSC2189Fire Safety Improvement Works Portcullis House Atrium Roof VentsLSC2203BRefurbishment of Elizabeth Tower – Main ContractLSC2208Fire Safety Improvement Works Palace of Westminster CompartmentationLSC22091 Canon Row RefurbishmentLSC2209A1 Canon Row Refurbishment (PSC Delivery Agreement)LSC2209CCanon Row Enabling Works Part 1 – Main WorksLSC2226APalace of Westminster Life Safety Works-MOALSC2230Westminster Hall Phase 3 (Internal Roof, Lantern and Lighting Installation, and Fire Safety)LSC2239AEstate Wide Electrical Infrastructure & Resilience – Stage 2

Parliamentary Estate: Plastics

Layla Moran: To ask the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps are being taken to reduce the use of (a) single-use plastic cutlery, (b) single-use plastic straws, (c) single-use coffee cups, (d) single-use coffee cup lids and (e) other single-use plastic items on the Parliamentary Estate.

Tom Brake: The Commission has asked the Administration Committee to review the sustainability and environmental management of single-use disposable plastics in the House of Commons.The review will include the use of single-use plastic cutlery; single-use plastic straws; single-use coffee cups; single-use coffee cup lids; and other single-use plastic items on the Parliamentary Estate.The Administration Committee will be considering this matter in March.

Women and Equalities

Harassment

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of re-enacting s40 of the Equality Act 2010.

Victoria Atkins: The Government does not believe it is necessary to re-enact S.40. The provisions at S.40(2) of the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), which dealt with third party harassment, were repealed in 2013, as part of the Coalition Government’s ‘Red Tape Challenge’, because they were unnecessary, confusing and little used. Anyone wishing to bring a claim of harassment at work, including by a third party, should be able to do so using the provisions under S.26 of the Act together with the specific prohibitions on harassment in the Act, such as those in Part 5, which cover employment.  The Government condemns all forms of harassment and this is why the Prime Minister has committed to reviewing non-disclosure agreements, and any evidence suggesting they are being used improperly.

Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when her Department plans to publish the evaluation report on the pilot Access to Elected Office Fund.

Victoria Atkins: The evaluation of the Access to Elected Office Fund will be published in due course.